


Darkness and Hope

by KariganFirestone



Category: Underfell (alternate universe), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, But so is Reader, Depression, F/M, Flirty Grillby, Flirty Sans, Fluff, Humor, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader is a vampire, Sans is sometimes a jerk, Slow Burn, Tsundere Reader, a slayer's out to get you, one or two OC vamps, puns for days, reader is female, some dark humor cuz underfell, soul issues, the plot intensifies!, vampires are a secret, vamps and monsters have history
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-10-24 04:37:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 34,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10734264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KariganFirestone/pseuds/KariganFirestone
Summary: You're a centuries-old vampire who has given up on ever finding true friendship or love due to past rejections. Lately, you feel as if your vampiric nature is starting to overcome you and you're losing yourself. Things start to change when you meet your flirty skeleton neighbor. He makes an effort to befriend you, but you've sworn off getting close to anyone ever again. The more you're around him, the more he starts to grow on you. You can feel the old you coming back, but there's still a deep struggle within you between fear of rejection and hope of acceptance. When he figures out you're more than just a strange human, will he still want to be around you?





	1. It's Just a Thing that Happens

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Skeleton Games](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8700787) by [poetax](https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetax/pseuds/poetax). 



> Hey everyone! You've found my fanfic on a fanfic! Shout out goes to poetax and her story! Check it out if you haven't already. It is amazingly good and made me think, "what if Sans and the vampire switched rolls?" I couldn't stop thinking about it, and then BAM! This story was born. The overall concept/setting and beginning is going to be similar, but I want to make it uniquely my own as much as possible. Thanks for giving this a chance!

You were sitting on your living room couch with your head in your hands, laptop on the coffee table in front of you. Lines of the article you were writing stared up at you from off the screen. It felt like it was missing something, but you couldn’t figure out what. The words just seemed to be going in one eye and out the other. You really needed to get this finished. It was 4am, and you were supposed to submit it to the magazine in only a few short hours. With your current state of mind, you weren’t making much progress.

You loved your job as a freelance writer. So far it was your favorite out of the many, many careers you’d had during your supernatural lifespan. You got to work from home and set your own hours, and you never needed to interact with others in person. It was the ideal situation for a vampire such as yourself. The best part was the writing, though. You loved how it kept your mind active, always learning, searching for and finding inspiration for different pieces. It was also your favorite way to express yourself. Lately though, it had been quite difficult to concentrate or come up with ideas, and you weren’t enjoying it nearly as much as you used to.

Sighing in frustration, you laid face down on the couch, head resting on your folded arms as you stared off into space. Was this really your life? Was this what it had come to after half a century? Being a shut-in with no friends, living in a crappy apartment in the worst part of town, and getting all your entertainment from Netflix and video games? Being a soulless vampire meant you were going to have a terrible afterlife, so why couldn’t you figure out how to live happily in this cursed half-life you still had?

Up until recently, you’d had extravagant living conditions. Money accumulates well when you’re around for hundreds of years. Even with all of that you had become bored, and for excitement you had decided to bet it all away in a game of poker. Odd as it seemed, it hadn’t really been that reckless of a decision. You’d been well-aware of what you were risking and decided you didn’t care, even going far enough as to hope you’d lose. Possessions just didn’t do it for you anymore. You really weren’t a gambler, but you’d thought maybe a change of pace would be good for you.

So now here you were in this small, rundown apartment. If anything, it made you feel worse than before. The walls were paper thin, allowing you to hear all of your neighbor’s activities, from opening and closing cupboards to snoring. There were stains all over the dingy carpet and walls, and it perpetually smelled, though of what you really couldn’t tell. You’d lived in worse though, and while you could’ve afforded a slightly nicer place, with this one you had more money left over to save and begin to re-amass your wealth. But…

There was one question that constantly consumed your thoughts: did any of it really matter? You had lived for so long, done this for _so long_ , that it all seemed the same. Nothing seemed to satisfy you anymore. Nothing meant anything anymore. Not even your own life. In fact, if you were to vanish, the world would be a better place without you preying on innocent humans for survival. You were such a monster.

 _No, not a monster_ , you had to remind yourself. You had been trying to rid yourself of using that term in that way ever since the monster race had emerged from Mt. Ebott three years ago. You didn’t know any personally, but you had interacted with enough to know they weren’t horrible, soulless creatures like vampires. Maybe a little rough around the edges, but harmless enough. They had been integrating into human society (albeit slowly), unlike your kind who still hid in the shadows behind myth and legend.

If vampires were to ever come out into the open, you were sure it would end in their destruction. There’s no way people would ever accept a race that preyed upon them, just like rabbits would never live with wolves. You had experienced it many times in the past as you opened up to close friends and lovers. They had all painfully rejected you, fear and hatred burning in their eyes. Each time you naively hoped things would turn out differently, hoped that maybe your love and friendship was strong enough for them to look past your nature and accept you. But every such time you had hoped in vain.

After many years, you had finally turned to your own kind for companionship, only to find that the few who were left preferred to live solitarily with no attachments. You had always craved deep and meaningful relationships, needing to feel accepted, loved, and wanted, and to give the same in return. However, over the last hundred years or so you’d given up hope of ever finding anything like that. That kind of happiness wasn’t meant for a creature as vile as you.   

Your eyes began to burn with tears. Frustrated by your emotions, you reached over to your laptop and opened up your music library. At times when you were feeling this way (which recently had become more and more often), music helped to drown out your negative thoughts. You queued up the playlist that consisted mostly of wordless, upbeat dance/techno music and turned up your speakers. As you lay on the couch, you allowed the beats to pulse through your body, feeling the edge of your pain ebb away as you cleared your mind and focused on the rhythm.

After a long moment, you felt like you could focus enough to return to your article. You had just sat up and were about to start where you left off when you heard banging on the wall connecting you and your neighbor’s apartments.

“yo! keep it down in there! ‘m tryin’a sleep!” you heard a deep, gruff voice shout.

You winced. Cuss! You were so used to living in a house that it totally slipped your mind that your loud music would bother anyone. At least your apartment was at the end of the row, so he was the only one it would affect. You had only lived in this apartment a week and had never met or seen the guy, but you sure weren’t making a great impression.

You sheepishly lowered the volume and turned back to your article. As you read it over, inspiration hit you and you began typing. Before you could get even a full sentence down, you were interrupted by more banging.

“i can still hear it, ya jerkwad!”

 _Stupid thin walls_ , you thought as you lowered the music to where you could barely hear it. You resumed typing but don’t get very far before your focus starts to fade. Augh! Without the loud music to blanket your emotions, you wouldn’t be able to get this done.

…

Wait a second. Why did you even care what your neighbor thought of you? If he knew you, he’d hate you anyways, so why bother?

Screw him. You really needed to concentrate. Thanks to that new wave of inspiration, it would only take a good ten more minutes to finish, and then he could have all the silence he wanted. You cranked up the speakers again and got back to work.  

After a few minutes, you heard music coming from your neighbor’s wall. At first it was pretty faint, but then you could clearly discern the heavy drums and guitar. Was that Linkin Park? You smirked. You liked Linkin Park. Admittedly though, it wasn’t great when combined with techno. You turned the volume higher and kept typing.

 A couple terribly mashed songs later, the article was finally finished and submitted. You sighed satisfactorily and shut off your laptop. Rock music was still blaring from the wall. You briefly wondered if it was bothering the apartment on the opposite side.

Yawning, you got up and walked back to your room to get ready for bed. Looking at the clock, it was only 5am. You didn’t usually go to bed this early. The sun wasn’t even out yet. Lately for some reason, you had been more tired than usual. It wasn’t like you had a reason to stay up anyway.

After getting ready, you flopped down on your bed, staring at the window. You had taped tin foil over the glass to block out the light. The sun must’ve started rising, because there was a soft golden glow around the edges. And your neighbor was _still_ playing music. It didn’t bother you, but wasn’t he trying to sleep? Maybe petty revenge was more worth it to him or something. Whatever. It wasn’t your problem.

__________

 

You woke up at 5:30pm to a silent apartment. You wondered what time the music had finally shut off as you got out of bed and stretched.

As you walked into the bathroom to shower, you felt a dry ache in your throat. It meant that you needed to feed soon, but… didn’t you just do that five days ago? Usually you went at least a full week between feedings. It shouldn’t really surprise you. After all, what hasn’t been wrong with you lately? You stopped in front of the mirror, staring blankly at your reflection. Despite everything, it’s still you.  

After your shower, you plopped down on the couch and opened up Netflix on your laptop. You needed something to pass the time while you waited for it to get dark enough to go out. As you were browsing through some of the newer titles, someone started to pound on your door.

“Who is it?” you called out, twisting around on the couch to face the door. If it was someone you knew, you weren’t opening it. With your thirst as unpredictable as it was right now, you didn’t know if you would be able to control it, and you didn’t like biting people you knew. It was too risky if something went wrong. If it was a salesperson, however…

“it’s your favorite neighbor, open up.”

You recognized the gruff voice and scowled. Yep, no way you were going to “open up.”  

“I’m busy!”

“i just wanna talk t’ya for a sec.”

You sighed, knowing exactly what he wanted. You just wanted him to leave. “Sorry about the music. It’s just a thing that happens.”

“whaddaya mean it’s just a thing that happens?”

“I mean, it’s just a thing that happens.”

“lady, ya better not be screwin’ with me.” His voice was getting heated.

“I’m not.”

“haven’tcha ever heard’a headphones?”

“Yeah. Don’t have any.”

“like i’m gonna believe that!”

“Well I’m poor enough to live here, aren’t I?”

You thought you heard a growl.

“you’re lucky i have to go to work! we’ll continue this later, jus’… freakin’ keep your music to yourself!”

Yep, he hated you. Headphones were actually a good idea, though. Sighing, you sank back into the couch. Hopefully he would just leave you alone. You really didn’t want a confrontation. And hopefully you were better fed if he did come back. 


	2. Grillby's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For this summary I really wanted to put "You're so hawt you make fire sweat," but it sounded a little cheesy. Welp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! The next chapter is up!  
> I'm really surprised to see the amazing number of kudos and hits on this story so far. This is my first fanfic, so I didn't know if people would like it or not. So thanks!!! Everyone that's reading this right now is a really cool dude (or dudette, if you prefer)!

After watching a couple of movies, you finally decided it was time to go out and quench your thirst. You groaned when you looked at the clock. 10pm. It was a Wednesday night, so you would be lucky if you found anyone out walking around by themselves. You knew you should’ve stopped after the first movie, but you just hadn’t wanted to get up yet.

Sighing, you stood up and walked to the bathroom. Chances were you’d have to go into some kind of establishment and lure someone out, so you needed to look somewhat presentable. You fixed up your hair and makeup and went to your room to change, throwing on a simple red blouse, skinny jeans, and a black leather jacket. Looking in the mirror, you had to admit that you were pretty attractive. Yep, tonight was going to be a success.

You pulled on your heels as you went out the front door. The crisp, cool night air breezed gently across your face. Everything was still and quiet as you headed out of your apartment complex towards downtown Ebott. The first time you hunted in this area was last Friday. It hadn’t taken long for you to find someone. There had been quite a few people out and about, half of them humans, half of them monsters. You guessed there must be a higher population of monsters living in this part of town.

Several cars drove past on the street, but as you suspected, no one was walking around tonight. Well, no one you could feed off, anyway. On the opposite side of the road there was a stag monster with tall, pointy antlers smoking outside a building. A dark purple eye monster floated down the sidewalk in your direction. You nodded as it was about to pass you. A lid came down over the giant eye, revealing a much smaller set of glowing red eyes, and a menacing but well-meaning smile. How interesting. You smiled back.

You couldn’t feed off monsters. Some didn’t even have blood, and the ones that did… Well, you tried once a couple years ago with a rabbit monster, but his blood had done absolutely nothing for your thirst. It was sweeter than human blood and acted just like monster food, disappearing as it hit your throat. Other than the fact that it was made purely of magic, it probably didn’t do anything for you because that was just part of the vampire curse. You were forever dependent on the blood of humans, and humans alone.      

After about half an hour of fruitless searching, you spotted a bar. The purple neon sign above read “Grillby’s” in cursive lettering. From the outside, it looked like a decent place. You’d never been in before, and seeing as you weren’t having much luck wandering around, it was your best bet.

You pulled open the door to the warm smell of grease and booze. The place was lit with blue and purple neon, almost making it seem more like a nightclub if not for all the booths and tables. It was surprisingly busy for a weeknight, but as you looked around your hopeful anticipation became disappointment. This was a predominantly monster establishment. There were only two humans, and they were there together. You only needed one, so unless one of them went off by themselves, they would be difficult to separate. Well, so much for this place. You’d just have to look somewhere else.

As you turned to leave, a familiar gruff voice hit your ears and you froze.

“heh, so this human convicted’a murder’s in the electric chair, right? they ask ‘im if he has a last request, an’ he says, ‘yeah, i wantcha t’hold my hand!’”  

Surprised, you look back to see a table of dog monsters howling with laughter, and a skeleton chuckling mirthfully.

“pretty _shockin’_ , right?”

Wait… was this skeleton… your neighbor? That was definitely his voice. Huh. You’d assumed he was human. Mental note: never assume species.

You took a second to study him. He looked like a pretty laid-back guy with his hands tucked into the pockets of his fluffy-hooded black jacket. Maybe a little lazy judging by his black basketball shorts and the crooked socks around his anklebones. He did seem a little menacing with his large, pointed teeth, one of them made of shining gold, but it was offset by his wide grin. Small crimson eyelights glowed from his wide sockets, matching the color of his shirt. And they were staring right at you.

“see somethin’ you like, sweetheart?” He raised a browbone suggestively. Huh, his face was surprisingly expressive for a skull.

“Yeah, actually. That seat over there.” Smirking, you nodded to a stool up at the bar and went to sit down. You were curious enough to stay for a while.

Behind the counter stood the bartender who was made of flickering purple flames that softly warmed the atmosphere around him. His muscular form was accentuated by a well-fitted black dress shirt and slacks. You wondered how he was able to wear or touch anything without it burning or melting. Definitely had to be magic.

“What can I get for you… my dear?” he asked in a crackly voice, his white eyes looking you up and down from behind black-framed specs.    

You decided to ignore the flirtatious tone and scan at the blackboard menu on the wall behind him. “Hmm…”

“the burgs here are to die for,” said the skeleton, coming to lean on the counter beside you. He didn’t seem to know who you were. No way you were going to tell him, either.

“Was that a pun?”

“huh?” He scratched the back of his skull. “oh, cuz i’m… heheh! guess it was.”

“Ah,” you replied humorlessly. Turning back to the bartender, you smiled and said, “I’ll have a burger, then.”

“Anything to drink?”

“Just water, please.”

The white, jagged fire of the flamesman’s mouth turned up in a smirk at the skeleton before he walked off to make your order.

“so, doll, what brings someone like you to a place like this?”

“My name’s y/n, actually. And I was hungry, so when I saw this place I decided to stop in.” True enough.

“heh, okay. but there’s somethin’ i don’t quite understand about your story.”

You tensed. What had you said?

“why didja switch your name from ‘hungry’ to ‘y/n?’”

Your brow furrowed in confusion. And then you got it.

“Oh, haha!” Your laugh was a mix of relief and amusement. You blushed at your sudden outburst, trying to hide your smile with your hand. “You’re terrible.”

His grin widened. “nah, i’m jus’ sans. sans the skeleton.” He extended his hand to you.

You hesitated a moment before taking it in your own. To your surprise, his bones were warm. After a firm shake, you let go.

That’s when the bartender came back with your order, placing it front of you. You turned to find a juicy burger stacked with the perfect balance of condiments, surrounded by thick, steaming fries. It looked as good as the ones you always saw in fast food ads.

“Wow, this looks great! Thank you!”

“You’re very welcome, my dear.” He smiled.

“’ey grilbz, can ya fix me up one a those, too?” Sans was drooling while eyeing your food.

“…You already had one during your meal break.”

“jus’ take it outta my paycheck.”

Grillby (you guessed by Sans’ nickname for him) crossed his arms. “Speaking of which, don’t you have a job to do?”

“i can keep a lookout from here jus’ fine.”

A loud _pop_ sounded from the fire. “Remind me why I hired you again?”

“cuz we’re best friends.” Sans flashed his cheeky grin.

“…”

“what aboutta bottle’a mustard instead?”

The flamesman grabbed a round yellow bottle from under the counter and slapped it down in front of Sans. “Lazy bones,” he muttered as he walked to the other side of the bar to take another customer’s order.

After he left, you started to dig into your food. You hardly ever consumed anything besides blood. You didn’t have a taste for human food anymore, and your stomach couldn’t digest it either. This meant you had to throw it up afterwards, which definitely wasn’t fun or worth it. The exception was water, which you could handle in mild amounts.

When monsters had emerged and introduced their own food into society, you were pleasantly surprised to find it was edible. Because it was completely made up of magic, it instantly absorbed into your body. It didn’t do anything to sustain you, but it did give your vampiric powers an extra boost for a time. The best part was that it tasted _amazing_. You had completely forgotten what it was like to enjoy food. So many new foods had been invented since you were human, and now you finally got the chance to try them.

This was your second time eating a hamburger, but it topped the first by a landslide. As you bit into it, a rush of flavors filled your mouth. It was like _heaven_. Very unlike the one you ate that had been encrusted with glitter. Why hadn’t you known about this place sooner?

“Mmm. This is _sooo_ delicious!”

“heh, i can tell,” Sans smirked. “you savin’ that for later?” He motioned a phalange around his whole mouth.

Your face flushed red for the second time that night as you quickly snatched a napkin and wiped your face. The skeleton started laughing.

“Shut up. It’s not that funny.”

Your expression made him laugh harder, doubling over and holding onto the counter for support. You exhaled loudly and rolled your eyes, turning back to your food. This time you were extra careful not to make a mess.

Once he had calmed down enough, he straightened and wiped a translucent red tear from the corner of an eye socket.

“aw, doll. don’t be mad.” He was holding back snickers behind his jacket sleeve.

“I don’t get mad, I get even,” you replied calmly around your meal.

“what’s that s’posed ta mean?”

“Oh, nothing,” you shrugged. “So, you work here?”

He looked warily at you for a second before responding. “yeah, i work security detail. make sure no one’s skippin’ out on their tab or startin’ fights or nothin’.”

“Hm.” You nodded. “Also… what’s with the mustard?”   

“oh, this?” He held up the yellow bottle, his smirk returning. “i can’t get enough’a this stuff.”

You stared at him incredulously. “Can you even eat without getting it all over yourself?”

“’course i can, i’m not you.” He winked.

Scowling, you said, “That’s not what I meant.”

“heh, jus’ watch.” He popped the cap on and squirted the contents into his mouth. Strangely enough, you didn’t see any of the yellow liquid leaking out from his skull. Hm. When in doubt, assume magic.

Intrigue wearing off, you scrunched up your face in disgust. “You know that’s not a drink, right?”

“sure it is, doll.” His browbone lifted in amusement.

“Y/n. And no, pretty sure it’s a condiment _._ ”

“i _mustard_ disagree.”

You huffed. “Are all monsters this weird?”

“Just him,” said Grillby as he made his way back towards you. “How is the food?”

“This is by far the best burger I’ve ever had,” you gushed.

His flames seemed to glow brighter at the compliment, and he smiled back. “I’m pleased to hear you are enjoying it… despite the riffraff keeping you company.” He glared at Sans and walked off again.

“ _psshh_. if there was riffraff here i would’a kicked ‘em out by now,” Sans grumbled, turning around to lean his back against the counter with crossed arms.

“So, one last question,” you started.

“okay, shoot.” He turned to you, his golden tooth gleaming.

“What time do you get off work?”

A large smile stretched up the sides of his face. “two-thirty, sharp.”

“Good to know.” You turned away and took a bite of a fry, keeping your face void of emotion.

“…diiiid ya wanna meet up, or somethin’?” he prompted.

“Nope. Just curious as to when it wouldn’t be safe to roam the streets anymore.”

“you’re killin’ me, doll.”

“Another pun?”

“what? i…” He snickered. “how do i keep missin’ those?”

That’s when Grillby appeared again, glaring down through his glasses. “Sans… Jerry’s back.”

You both turned to see an awkward, vaguely UFO-shaped monster with shifty eyes and a mustache standing by the door.

Sans groaned, sliding his phalanges down his face. “not that annoyin’ creep,” he muttered. He got up and stormed towards the guy. “jerry! i thought i toldja never t’show your ugly face in here again!”

“That’s real funny, Sans,” Jerry responded in a nasally voice, rolling his eyes. “I go where I want.” 

“does this look like my jokin’ face to you?”

“You know, my dear…” said Grillby, pulling your attention away from the scene. He was leaning on the other side of the counter in front of you. “I never caught your name.”

“It’s y/n,” you smiled up at him. Suddenly, you felt the ache in your throat burn a little stronger. Despite the food you had just eaten, you were far from satisfied. You needed to get going. “Um, how much do I owe you for this?”

“It’s on the house.” 

“Wow, are you sure?”

“For someone as beautiful as you, very.” He gave you a wink.

“Well, thanks. That’s nice of you.” Yeah, you knew he was hitting on you, but you weren’t about to play along. You didn’t do romance anymore. “It’s late, so I should be going now.” You stood up from your stool.

“I do hope you’ll come again, y/n.”

“Oh, definitely.” You would be having dreams about that burger until you did.

You walked passed Sans on your way towards the door. “that oughta keep ‘im out,” he grumbled. When he saw you his grimace disappeared. “hey, doll. leavin’ already?”  

“Don’t worry. I’ll see you again soon.”

“two-thirty, right?”

You were about to respond with, ‘You wish,’ but you suddenly had an evil thought. “Why not?” you went for instead, shrugging. Payback.

Sans chuckled until he realized you were serious. “w-wait. you’re not jus’ messin’ with me, are ya?”    

“Nope, I promise you’ll see me after work,” you smiled wryly. It wasn't a complete lie. 

“alright. see ya then, doll.” His pointy teeth beamed at you.

“It's y/n!” you yelled back as you walked out the door. Now it was time to go find a real meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this! I hope you all liked this chapter. I had a ton of fun writing it, especially the dialogue between Sans and Reader.  
> I'll be updating this story on a weekly basis, and by the next chapter I'll have a tumblr page set up for fan art and questions if anyone's interested. :)


	3. The One Where Sans Gets Stood Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long night, Sans confronts you about your music. Neither of you is very happy about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote and rewrote this chapter like 50 times, so I hope it's okay! xD

As you stepped outside of Grillby’s, the silence of the night echoed in stark contrast to the boisterous atmosphere of the bar. It was broken momentarily as a single car cruised down the street, the _whoosh_ ing of tires filling the air. Thanks to that magical burger, your night vision was heightened and you could see almost every detail as clearly as if it were day. You missed being outside during daylight. 

The screen on your phone told you it was just after midnight, and you grimaced. If you’d been hard-pressed to find anyone to feed off earlier, it would be much more difficult now. There was always tomorrow night, but you weren’t sure if you’d be able to wait another day. The thirst burned in your throat like fire. On the edges of your mind you started to feel the primal urges to bite, rip, tear... You stopped walking and took deep breaths, fighting to keep control of your feelings.

Your bloodlust hadn't been this strong since your first century as a vampire, with the rare exception of those times you went a few days past your weekly feeding schedule. You’d always been so in control of yourself, but now you felt your strength slipping. It scared you. If you were to let it take over, let the thirst consume you…

Shuddering, you remembered the last time that happened. There had been so much screaming… so much blood… _Stop!_ You put your head between your hands. Remembering was making it worse. Instead, you tried to focus on the guilt you had felt, the fact that you had taken another innocent life. What a horrible creature you’d been. And still were. You let that painful thought take over, gradually cutting the edge off your thirst.

Once you had calmed down, you breathed out a sigh of relief. What was going on with you? Maybe you could try and get in contact with the others of your kind to see if they knew anything. Maybe one of them had experienced the same thing and knew what to do. That is, if they even wanted to help you. Past attempts to contact any of them had gone ignored. But at least you could try. You weren’t sure how bad this was going to get, and you couldn’t afford to sit around and let it get worse.

In the meantime, you decided to just keep wandering around. Someone was bound to pop up sooner or later. They always did. You could find another bar, but you weren’t really feeling that scene anymore. Besides, anyone at a bar this late on a Wednesday was probably pretty drunk. A little alcohol in their blood was okay, but you hated the taste when they were heavily intoxicated. You might be able to find a late-working employee out on a smoke break. Nicotine wasn’t great tasting either, but the flavor was subtler than liquor. As a last resort though, anything would be better than nothing. It might be necessary even, if you didn’t get a move-on.

__________ 

Sans leaned cross-armed against the wall, watching as patrons slowly exited the bar. His eyelights flicked to the clock and he impatiently tapped a phalange against his jacket sleeve. He wished everyone would hurry up and scram already. Only five minutes until you got there, and he never liked to keep a lady waiting.

Finally, as Grillby started to wipe down tables, the last person left. “See ya tomorrow, Sans,” called the dog monster as he stumbled out the door.

“’night, doggo.” Sans put his hands in his pockets and started to leave as well. “alright, well i’m out,” he said to Grillby.

“Do you really think she’ll show up?” the flamesman asked, throwing him a smirk.

Sans stopped in his tracks. “whadda ya mean? of course she’ll show up,” he growled defensively. “she said she would.”

“I just don’t think you’re her type.”

“psshh. show’s what you know. she laughed at my jokes.”

“ _Gagged_ would be a more accurate term.”

“whateva.” Sans muttered, starting towards the door again.

“Hopefully it goes well despite your unsavory humor.”

He whirled around in confusion. “huh?”

“You heard me correctly.”

“wait, hold on. you actually want it t’go _well_?”

Grillby shrugged.

“but, I thought—”  

“If you scare her off, she won’t come back.”

Sans tried to get a read on his expression, but it was the same smug look as always. “don’t worry. i’ll be the perfect gentleman.” He scoffed and rolled his eyelights, closing the door loudly behind him as he left. That jerk made no sense sometimes.

Looking around, he didn’t see you yet. You were probably just a little late. Heaven knew he was late for things all the time. He could wait.

Five minutes passed.

Then ten.

After fifteen, he started to wonder if Grillby was right. Maybe you had just played him for a fool. Admittedly, you had only laughed at one of his jokes… but you had asked him all those questions, right? If you weren’t interested you would’ve ignored him. Or maybe you were just being friendly. But then why had you agreed to meet him after work? Maybe this is what you meant when you said you “get even.” Maybe he shouldn’t have laughed so hard over the mess on your face while you were eating. But stars, who gets mad enough to stand a guy up over something stupid like that? It was just cruel.

You were now twenty minutes late. He cursed and slammed his fist against the brick wall. He was so stupid to think a human like you could’ve been interested in a monster like him. A lot of humans were still prejudiced against monsters. Why had he thought you’d be any different? Well, you had come into a monster bar… 

“aarghh! girls are just dumb! all a’them!” he yelled, hitting the wall again.

Grillby was stepping outside right then to lock up the bar. “I told you she wouldn’t show,” he said amusedly.

“screw you,” Sans fumed.      

“I do hope she comes back though.”     

__________

Two-thirty had come and gone. You’d planned to be back at your apartment by three at the latest to properly introduce yourself to your skeleton neighbor, but that had long passed as well. Now you derided the thought. Why should you care if you’d made it back in time, anyway? What did you think you were going to accomplish? It’s not like he’d be friends with you after messing with him like that. You didn’t even want friends. Friends sucked. Well, actually, you sucked. That was kind of the problem.

Speaking of which, at least you were fed. Finally, after hours of looking and coming up dry, you had thrown caution to the wind and gone after a gas station attendant. Gas stations were the worst with all their security cameras. You’d had to compel the guy with your mind control to wait several seconds before following you outside to a blind spot in back of the building. If anyone looked at the recordings, it would seem pretty sketchy. Honestly though, the fact that you were a young woman walking around by yourself late at night had probably aroused more suspicion.

Now it was almost sunrise, pink light starting to leak up onto the edges of the horizon. You jogged home, feeling stronger and more like yourself than earlier, thirst completely satiated. You had to beat the sun though, or all that effort would be wasted. Unlike the famous myth, you wouldn’t burn, but you would be sapped of energy. If you stayed in direct sunlight long enough, your body would shrivel up as if you were in the advanced stages of starvation. It wouldn’t kill you, but you’d be in a comatose state and basically as good as dead. Speaking from experience, it really wasn’t much fun.

You arrived at your apartment fairly quickly, sighing with relief as you walked through the door. The usual grungy smell welcomed you. You’d have to remember to get some scented candles or something the next time you were out. Kicking off your shoes, you went back into your room to change into more comfy attire.

When you moved into the bathroom to brush your teeth, you were taken aback by your reflection. There was a ring of dried blood around your lips and a stain trailing down your neck. Man, you were getting sloppy with your feeding habits. You were glad no one had been outside to see you like this. It would’ve been mortifying, not to mention strange as heck. You washed it off and continued with the rest of your bedtime routine.

As you laid down to go to sleep, you wondered if Sans would knock on your door again today. You chuckled thinking about what he would say when he saw your face. Then you frowned. He’d probably be pretty upset.

Wait, you were caring again. You can’t have friends, remember? It’d be best if he hated you. As you thought this, a part of you deep down inside wanted to believe it wasn’t true. You shut your eyes tight as the conflicted feelings swirled painfully within you.

After lying awake for a good hour, you’d finally had enough. You needed music. Venturing out into the living room, you snatched up your laptop and brought it back. Once you had it set to a playlist you liked, you settled down under the covers once again. It worked like a charm. You could instantly feel your mind relax and start to empty. The steady beat had you comfortably… drifting off… to slee—

  _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

You jolted immediately upright, eyes wide. The offending noise came from the wall behind you. Right. Above. Your. Head.

Unapologetically, you turned up the volume. He could complain all he wanted when you were awake, but when it came to your precious sleep time, he was messing with the wrong girl.

__________

It was funny of you to think that, because that’s exactly how Sans felt about your music. Fine, play it when he was awake, but dear Asgore, he needed his sleep! He had a hard-enough time getting rest between all his nightmares, but he wouldn’t get any with that garbage blasting through the wall. This time it was right next to his skull, too.

How late did you stay up, anyway? Didn’t you have a job? You had to be sleeping during the day, unless maybe you didn’t sleep at all? Humans were weird, so it wouldn’t surprise him. And you didn’t own headphones! You had to have been lying you when you told him that. The way humans walked around with them glued to their ears all the time, it was like they were born with them.

He needed to have a neighborly chat with you, and not through a door or wall this time. He wasn’t known as one of the most intimidating monsters in the underground for nothing.

Irritated, he lifted himself out of bed with a grunt and looked around his disaster of a room for his slippers. He finally found them rolled inside the ball of sheets he’d shoved off the mattress in his sleep. Slipping them on, he shuffled out into the dark hallway.

Sans didn’t get very far before he stumbled right over a lump in the middle of the floor. The lump let out an angry screech and took off hissing into the living room.

“fffffuuuu—” he started yelling, but caught himself, “—dddggee! _dangit_ , ya stupid cat!”

He rounded the corner, glaring murderously at the fluffy black feline hunched on his couch. Its yellow eyes threw a similar look right back at him. Doomfanger, as she was ridiculously named, was actually his brother Papyrus’s pet. Unfortunately, the place his brother lived in didn’t allow him to keep pets, so Sans was stuck taking care of the little demon.

Even worse, Papyrus had somehow trained her to attack anyone who swore. He’d claimed that, “SWEARING IS A SOCIAL TABOO AMONG HUMANS, AND TO MAKE A CIVILIZED IMPRESSION IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE CLEAN UP OUR DISTASTEFUL LANGUAGE.” Sans had laughed. He’d heard plenty of humans with mouths much dirtier than his. Well, he’d quickly learned to use a less explicit vocabulary once he found that Doomfanger’s frequent scratches and bites were _not_ funny.   

“you’re so lucky i ain’t allowed t’stuff ya in the blender, ya overgrown rodent,” Sans grumbled as he trudged out the front door to your apartment.   

__________

You’d kind of hoped Sans would just play his music to annoy you back like last time, but you weren’t surprised by the pounding on your door. Whining, you sloughed out of your comfy bed and shuffled down the hall.

You looked through the peephole. Yep, there was an angry skeleton waiting for you out there. Did you really feel like dealing with him right now? He was only going to be more upset when he saw you. Obvious solution: don’t let him see you. Besides, letting the sunlight in would only drain your hard-earned energy.

Sans pounded again.

“What?” you shouted.

“you know what, lady. now open the door.”

“Can’t we talk like this?”

There was a frustrated grunt. “what’ve you got against talkin’ face t’face like a real person?”

“Nothing, I’m just… I’m not decent,” you lied.

You couldn’t see it, but Sans blushed.

“w-whateva. but we still need t’talk. i thought i told ya yesterday t’keep your music to yourself!”

“And I told _you_ it’s just a thing that happens.”

He made a strangled noise. “what does that even mean?!”

“It means—”

“do _not_ say ‘it’s just a thing that happens,’ cuz it ain’t!”

“It is though! I can’t control it.”

“that’s a load’a crap!”

“You don’t know my life.”

“heh. sure i do.” His tone turned smug. “you’re pro’ly one a those bums that sits around all day, leechin’ offa government money‘r whateva.”

“That’s not—”

“ya stay holed up inside your apartment cuz ya got nothin’ good to contribute to society.”

“Hey! I—”

“and you’re most likely butt ugly, too.”

“ _Excuse me_?!” You burst open the door, 100% done. “Say that to my face!”

Sans’s wicked expression turned into shock when he saw you, eye sockets going wide.    

“w-what the… _y-y/n?_ ”

“Mmhmm. And that was very rude,” you chastised, glaring up at him.

He was suddenly over being shocked. “nuh uh. what’s rude is standin’ a guy up!”

“Yeah, well you totally deserved it after what you just said to me.”

“i didn’ know it was _you_!”

“That’s no excuse. You don’t talk to a lady like that.”

“well, you don’ promise a guy you’ll meet up with and then leave ‘im hangin’!”

“I told you I’d see you after you got off work, and here I am! Seeing you! After work!”

“aaahhh! this is un-freakin-believable!” Sans roared, putting his hands on either side of his skull. “did you know who i was the whole time?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” you grinned proudly.

“what are ya, some kinda freak stalkin’ me?”

“No! I just recognized your voice at Grillby’s.”

He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. “you wouldn’tve been able to recognize this voice if it hadn’ta yelled atcha about your music. yeah, don’t think we’re done talkin’ about that, sweetheart.”    

You had kind of hoped you were. “Can’t we do this later? I need to—”

“nope.” Sans’s tone dropped to a growl. “now.” You’d never noticed before how menacing he looked with his sharp teeth and red eyes. He didn’t intimidate you- not with your prowess as a vampire- but you figured it would probably be best to just comply.

“I’m sorry it’s been bothering you,” you sighed. “But I just… I… kind of… need it.” The last bit was mumbled.

“huh?” He looked confused at your tight expression, threatening façade gone.

“You heard me.” Scowling, you stared intensely at the doorframe, regretting not making up some less pathetic excuse instead.  

“a-and you really don’t have headphones?” Sans shuffled uncomfortably.

“…No.”

There was a long pause.

“fine,” he breathed.

“What?” It was your turn to be confused.

“you can play your stupid music. fer now.” He was looking anywhere but at you, a red glow smattered across his cheekbones. Huh, magical skele-blush.

“Really? It won’t bother you?”  

He frowned. “actually, hold that thought.” He turned and walked back to his apartment.

As you waited, wondering what he could be doing, you hid from the sunlight behind your door. Thankfully, the sun wasn’t shining directly on this side of the building, so the effects would be minimal. Still, you didn’t want to stand there for much longer.

When you heard Sans approaching you moved back. He shoved something towards you.

“here. take ‘em.”

You stared down at the pair of cheap, black headphones. “Wow, uh, thanks. That’s really nice of you.” Surprised, you took them. It was very unexpected from someone you hardly knew.

“don’t think nothin’ of it,” he shrugged. “i need my beauty sleep, is all. besides-” his grin returned- “life would be pretty _flat_ without music.”

Rolling your eyes, you replied, “Wow, that was _sharp_. How long did it take you to come up with that one?” Ew, had you really just made a pun, too?

The skeleton laughed. “well, it would’ve been faster, but i had to un _staccato_ my _notes_.”

“Okay. I think I’ve hit the limit of how many bad jokes I can handle in a day.”

His grin only widened. “ha, well maybe you should raise the _bar_.”

“Nope!” You slammed the door. “Thanks again for the headphones!”

“it was no _treble_ , doll!”

“Ahhhh!” And on that note (oh my _GOSH_ ), you stomped back to your room. What an interesting night this had been.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo, doesn't seem like Sans is too mad at you~ It's hard to stay mad at that face :3 
> 
> Also, my tumbler is up! Yay! Check it out if ya want. There's nothing... really on it... though... Yet!  
> https://kariganfirestone.tumblr.com/


	4. Pasta, Poker, and Assassins. Wait, is this the Mafia?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You hear bad news, see bad news, and speak bad news. Wow, and you thought watching the actual news was depressing. XD

It was late Thursday afternoon, and you were on hold with the Melchiorre Pasta Co. A simple, repetitive jingle played through the speaker of your phone. As you waited, your fingers absently tapped out the rhythm on the arm of your couch.

The famous artisanal pasta company had been around for about two hundred years. Its ownership had been passed down from father to son, the current CEO being Dante Melchiorre. Or so it seemed to the world. You knew differently. 

There was a _click_ as the music abruptly ended, and the cool voice of a female receptionist came through.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Melchiorre’s office, this is Heather speaking. How may I help you?”

“Yes, hello. I need to speak with Mr. Melchiorre, please,” you said in your most professional tone.

“I’m sorry, miss, but he doesn’t take calls. I’d be happy to take a message for you, though.”

“He’ll talk to me. Just tell him it’s about Savio Rapaci.”

“Like I said, I can take a message for you.” Heather sounded slightly annoyed. “Who, may I ask, is calling?”

You sighed, reminding yourself that patience is a virtue. “Y/n.” You spelled it out. “And don’t forget to add that it’s about Savio Rapaci.” You spelled that out, too.

“Alright, and what number can you be reached at?”

You rattled off your number, and she promised to give the message to Mr. Melchiorre before hanging up. You pocketed your phone, a little disappointed. It’s not like you’d really expected to get him right away, but you’d hoped.

All things considered, Savio was definitely the easiest vampire to contact. As far as you knew, he was the only one with a globally established business. The others of your kind chose to remain under the radar with more low-key ways of making money. They never settled in one place for long, making it very difficult to track them or even know if they were still alive. Savio had been around a little longer than you, so you hoped he would be able to diagnose the cause of your recent weird moods and waning control of your thirst.

Well, all that was left to do now was wait. You spent the night researching for and starting on a few articles that were due the next week. One of them you decided to write on monster-owned restaurants, interest piqued by your experience last night. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, there weren’t many at all, and almost none outside the city of Ebott. Humans were still wary of monsters, not making their establishments the most popular of places to go. Maybe your article (with an added review of Grillby’s) would help change that a little.

Sans’s headphones were put to good use as you worked. You kind of missed the sensation of soundwaves rippling through your entire body, but any negative thoughts were drowned out by the music regardless. To be honest, you could’ve gone out and bought your own pair. It’s not like they were _that_ expensive.

What was up with monsters giving you free stuff, anyways? First it was Grillby with the food, then Sans. Not that you were complaining. Come to think of it, no one had done anything like that for you in a long time. The thought of it brought a strange warmth to your chest. You hadn’t felt that in a long time either. It was familiar, but you couldn’t quite put a name to it. Just as soon as you felt it, it disappeared. All you knew is you wouldn’t mind feeling it again.

You closed up your laptop as the sun began to rise. Standing up from off the couch, you stretched and yawned, ready to head to bed. That’s when your phone vibrated in your pocket. Quickly, you pulled it out, checking the screen. The number was blocked.

“Hello?” you answered.

“Y/n, it is nice to be speaking with you again,” a smooth male voice responded.

“Same to you, Savio. I’m glad you got my message.” You were pleasantly surprised, not expecting him to get back to you so soon.

“Yes, but I’m not very happy that you gave my name out so carelessly,” he chastised. There’s a slayer that’s been running around lately.”

“A slayer?”

“So it would seem. Marcus called to warn me about them a few weeks ago. Said he barely escaped an attack.”

You paused for a moment, letting this information sink in. There hadn’t been active slayers for at least a century now. They’d attacked Marcus, which wasn’t surprising. He’d always been careless with where he fed and what state he left his victims in.

“Where was he attacked?”

“Arvin, I think.”

“Huh. I didn’t know Marcus had been hiding out so close to me.” Arvin was the next town over, so that was more than a little concerning.    

“You’re in Ebott, then?”

“Yes.”

Savio gave an amused hum. “Then I’d suggest you be very careful from here on out.”

“Don’t worry, I will be. Anyways, I have something I’d like to ask you about.”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“Have you ever heard of a vampire losing control of their thirst?”

“Well, that happens to the younger ones all the time,” he laughed. “Be more specific.”

“What about _mature_ ones suddenly having a stronger bloodlust and needing to feed more often?”

“Hmm,” he thought for a moment. “Yes. I’ve heard of it.”

“And what do you know about it?”

“Not much. I just know the vampires afflicted lost all sense of their former humanity. They became ruthless, savage beings.”

What little color there was in your pale face drained out. “Is… is there any way to reverse it?”

“If there is, I haven’t heard of it.” Savio paused a second. “But let me ask around. It’ll give me an excuse to see if the others have had any run-ins with the slayer.”

“You’re able to get in contact with the others?”

“Not all of them, no, but most of them have contacted me for favors and things over the years. As long as they haven’t moved around too much, I know where to find them.”

“Ah, well let me know if you learn anything.”

“Certainly.”

“Thanks, Savio. Take care.”

“Oh, I definitely will,” he said sanguinely.

There was a _click_ and the call ended. 

__________

Saturday night you decided to go out feeding again. You figured if you didn’t, you’d be thirsty again by Monday, and you’d end up wandering around like the other night. A twice-a-week Thursday/Saturday schedule wasn’t ideal, but it would have to do for now.

As you’d expected this time, you didn’t have to look very hard as you walked around downtown. You found someone on their way to meet up with a group of friends, and easily lured them into the back of an alley. Just as you had wiped their memory of the experience and sent them on their way, you felt your skin begin to crawl. Someone was watching you.

Quickly you looked around. You didn’t see anyone at the entrances of the alley, and there weren’t any windows along the walls to peek out of. That only left the roof. As you snapped your eyes upward, you saw a dark shadow dart out of view.

If it was someone who had accidentally witnessed your feeding session, you didn’t have to worry. It was dark enough they wouldn’t have seen your face or what you were doing in any sort of detail. However, you thought back to what Savio had told you about the slayer. If it was them, you definitely had to worry.

Not wanting to take any chances, you sprinted out of the alley and slowed once nearing a small group of people. The slayer wouldn’t risk attacking you in public. Now you just needed to shake them off and find a place to hide out for a while. You happened to know the perfect spot.

The group you followed passed by a night club, which you immediately darted towards. Skipping the line, you “convinced” the bouncer with your mind control to let you right in. You weaved your way through the writhing crowd towards the back of the building and took the emergency exit out. Hopefully this would buy you enough time to get away unfollowed.

Breaking into a sprint again, you headed a couple blocks over and stopped in front of the MTT-Brand Burger Emporium. Exactly where you remembered it. You rushed inside the monster-owned fast-food restaurant, greeted by glaring amounts of red, black, and yellow on the décor.

“Hey, buddy,” someone called to you from a corner booth. Turning, you saw an orange cat monster covered in expensive leather and denim, his legs crossed on the table top, and a smug grin plastered to his face. “How’s the poor life treating you?”

“It’s great, Burgerpants,” you rolled your eyes. “Is there a game going on right now?”

You didn’t think it was possible, but his face became smugger. “So, you’re back to lose more money?”

“Is there, or isn’t there?” Your foot tapped impatiently.

“Sure, buddy. Follow me.” The cat shrugged and got up, leading you back to the restrooms. “You know, thanks to you I don’t have to work as a cashier at this stupid joint anymore.”

“I’m sorry to hear my money has turned you into an unemployed menace to society.”

He frowned at you, opening up the janitorial supply closet, and you both stepped inside. Once the door was shut, he slid the tall broom cupboard out of the way, revealing a concrete staircase down into the basement.

“Losers first.” Burgerpants grinned as he gestured for you to go through.

You glowered at him as you passed. At the bottom, there was a dimly lit room with a table in the center, three monsters seated around it.

“Look Ned! If it isn’t our favorite human!” boomed Bernie, a large brown bear. He nudged a tired looking blue rabbit.

“You got here at the right time,” said Ned, glancing up. “We were waiting for an extra player.”

The third guy you hadn’t met before. He was red with horns and slitted eyes. He simply nodded as you took a seat.

 “Yeah, seems like y/n here has more money she’s itching to lose,” Burgerpants added, sitting down next to you.

“I can’t believe you even have anything left after last time,” Ned chuckled dryly.

“Let’s see…” You dug through your wallet and placed some wrinkled cash on the table. “I’ve got thirty bucks.”

“That’s it?” Bernie asked, disappointed.

“Well, you guys _did_ clean me out a few weeks ago,” you pointed out.

“You mean _I_ cleaned you out,” smirked Burgerpants. “And I’ll do it again.”

“Not this time,” you said coolly. I’m playing to win.”

“That’s what a gambling addiction sound like,” teased the bear.

“I’m not addicted, I just need to pass some time.”

Ned laid his head on the table. “That’s what we all say, and before you know it, we’re here passing _all_ our time.”

The red monster gave a low grunt.

“Alright then, Devin,” said Bernie in response. “If you’re so impatient, you get to be dealer.”

The Devin huffed and began shuffling and dealing cards. Meanwhile, everyone each threw a dollar into the middle of the table.

You took a look at your hand. It was pretty crummy. If you wanted to wait out a good couple of hours here, you needed to make your money last as long as possible. This meant you needed to play smart. You put down four out of your five cards to be replaced.

Burgerpants snorted at this. “Already off to a bad start, huh?” He laid down three of his own.

When you were dealt your replacements, you almost frowned. They were still terrible.

Everyone ended up folding but Bernie and Burgerpants, who kept betting until Bernie finally called it.

“One pair of tens,” the cat said.

“One pair of _kings_ ,” grinned Bernie, taking the money as Burgerpants groaned.

Your next hand wasn’t amazing, but neither was anyone else’s, judging by their expressions. Risking it, you decided to stay in. You had bet ten dollars this round by the time it came down to just you and Burgerpants. With satisfaction, you saw his face tighten a little as you went to add another five. When he matched, you decided to call it.

“Flush,” he said, spreading his hand on the table.

You only had one pair. “What? But I thought…” You’d been so sure you would win that one, and now a little over half of your money was gone.

“Did I ever tell you that I’m an aspiring actor, buddy?” he boasted as he scooped up the pile.

You simmered in your chair as the next hand was dealt. This game was going downhill fast, and you had to reverse it somehow. A thought occurred to you. At this point, everyone knew you played terribly, mostly from how hard you lost the last time you played. That could be used to your advantage.

A small smile crossed your lips, and you pulled the cards you were examining up to hide it. It really wasn’t a great hand, but they didn’t know that. Ned seemed to notice your expression, and he folded on his turn. You made a small bet, once again pretending to hold back a smile. This time you tried to make it less obvious.

When Bernie and Devin folded, Burgerpants finally spoke up. “It’s obvious you have something,” he taunted. “I fold, too.”      

You giggled and took the money, which wasn’t much at all.

“What did you have?” he asked.

“Nope,” you chided. “You didn’t match my bet, so you don’t get to know.”

“She’s right, Burg,” said an amused Bernie.

“I know that,” he murmured, his fluffy tail twitching behind him.

You decided you might not win a lot this way, but if you kept everyone guessing you could at least stay in. The whole game you kept switching tactics and trying different facial expressions, and surprisingly you did fairly well. At the end of it all, you gained almost double what you started with.

“It seems you’re better than we thought,” Bernie conceded. “We’d better watch out, or one day she’ll con her whole fortune back from us.” He chuckled, elbowing Ned. 

Burgerpants seemed a little miffed. “I’ve always said you can’t trust attractive people.”  

“Don’t worry,” you waved a hand dismissively. “I don’t want it back. Besides, I’m not a gambler.”  

“Ha! Then what are you doing here?” asked Ned. 

“Like I said, I needed to waste some time.” You checked your phone. It was really late now, just past two. “And now it’s time for me to head out.”

“Yeah, we’re done for the night, too,” Bernie said, yawning.   

All you of climbed the stairs up into the dark, empty restaurant and exited through the service door in the kitchen. Everyone said their goodbyes, heading off in different directions.

As you were about to head home, Burgerpants called out to you. “Y/n, wait up.”

“Hmm?”

He scratched the back of his head. “I was, uh, wondering…”

“Yeah?”

“Would you like to… um…” he paused, shifting his stance. “Maybe… hang out sometime?” He looked at you hopefully.

“Huh?”

“Notlikeonadateoranythingbutlikecompletelyplatonicasfriends?” His grin was strained and he vibrated with nervous tension, avoiding eye contact.

Instantly, your good mood turned somber. You were definitely flattered that he wanted to be friends, but it just wasn’t possible. You resorted to reciting what you always did in these situations, turning away sullenly. “I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t make a good friend.”

He searched your expression, nervousness replaced by confusion. “What do you mean?”

“We… we can’t be friends, Burgerpants.” The words came out forced.

He stared for a moment, his face growing gradually darker. “Just admit how it really is,” he finally said, bitterly. “You wouldn’t want to be friends with a monster, right?”

“…Right.” A shard of piercing guilt stabbed at your heart. You really wouldn’t mind being friends with monsters. They all seemed like great people. But… what else were you supposed to tell him? That you couldn’t be friends because you’re a soulless creature with a terrible past who feeds off the blood of the innocent? It was easier this way.

“Whatever. All you humans are the same.” His expression was a gut-wrenching mix of anger, disgust, and hurt. He turned his back on you and walked away into the night.

You watched as he left, a single tear escaping to drip down your cheek. Inflicting pain on others seemed to be your forte. Wiping your face, you grimaced, telling yourself it was for the best.

Suddenly, your thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of being watched again. Dang it, you thought you’d shaken the slayer off. Now it was late, with no one around to hide behind. There’s no way you could go home either. If they found out where you lived you would be dead for sure. The only thing to do was outrun them.

You took off in a full sprint, turning down streets and zipping through alleys. After a few minutes if this, you glanced back at your unwanted shadow. They weren’t close, but they’d somehow managed to keep up with you.

Panic started to seep into the edges of your mind. Slayers were adept killers, and it took a lot to stop them once they locked their prey in their sights. You had to remember they were still human, though. They couldn’t keep chasing you forever.

As you ran down a particular road, you heard a familiar voice call out.

“hey, doll!”

You stopped and turned to see Sans waving from across the street, just outside of Grillby’s. Quickly, you crossed over to him.

“what’re ya doin’ runnin’ around by yourself this late?” When he saw your face, his amused grin faded.  

“I’m being chased,” you panted.

“what? by who? i’ll teach ‘em not t’mess with ya,” he growled.

Your eyes widened. “No, Sans. They’re dangerous. Besides, I’m fine with you here. They won’t attack me when someone else is around.”

“i think you’re forgettin’ that i’m not exactly ‘someone’ in the eyes of the law. they’d prob’ly end up jus’ killin’ me, too,” he scowled.

He was right. Monsters hadn’t yet been “granted” all the same government rights as humans. It was ridiculous, but you weren’t surprised given how humans had reacted throughout history to differences within even their own kind.

“True,” you relented. “We need to run.”

“heh. don’t worry. i know a shortcut.”

“To where?”

“back home,” he said leading you down the alley behind Grillby’s.

“Wait, we can’t go back home. They’ll find out where we live.”

“jus’ hold on,” he smirked wrapping an arm around your waist.

“Hey!” you tried to squirm out of his grip. “How is this—”

Suddenly you felt everything warping around you, as if you were being squeezed through a thick sock. It stopped as quickly as it had begun, and you were no longer in the alley, but in a dark room. You couldn’t focus at first, your head was spinning too much. Sans had left your side to turn on a light, and after everything leveled out you noticed you were in an apartment. The layout was a mirror of yours, meaning this had to be Sans’s place. But how did you get from the alley to here in just the blink of an eye?!

“heh, you look confused, doll. allow me to shed some _light_ on the situation.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, when did this turn into a BurgerpantsxReader fic? I'm sorry Sans wasn't in this one until the end, but he'll be in most of the next one. I think. Definitely at least half. I have a plan for the story, but characters kind of do their own thing sometimes, haha. Like, Burgerpants wasn't supposed to want to befriend you, but he kinda tried anyway.
> 
> Also, I just wanted to say that I don't encourage gambling! Don't get the wrong idea! Poker's a fun game, but I only ever play with fake chips or candy :3


	5. It's a Game Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Think you've had your fill of playing games for the night? Think again. ;)

How did you get from the alley to Sans’s apartment in just the blink of an eye?!

“heh, you look confused, doll. allow me to shed some _light_ on the situation,” said an amused Sans, having just flipped the light switch.

The pun didn’t even register as you wracked your brain for how this was possible. “What in the world…?” you breathed, running a hand through your hair.

He smugly answered, “we’re at my place.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. But _how_?”

“we took a shortcut.” He winked.

“A magic shortcut?”

“well, duh.”

“So, we teleported?” Wow, you knew monsters each had different magical abilities, but you had no idea that included teleportation.

“call it whatcha want, you still haven’t thanked me for rescuing ya.”

Surprised, you blinked, having forgotten all about the slayer for a moment. “Oh, yeah… thank you.”

“s’nothin’,” Sans shrugged, satisfied. Then his face got serious. “but tell me, doll, who was it that was chasin’ ya?”

“I don’t know. Just some creep that was following me around all night.”

“what the heck were ya doin’ out so late by yourself?”

“That’s not really your business,” you stated matter-of-factly.  

“oh, sorry.” He rolled his eyelights. “i guess next time you can save your own—”

_Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Someone pounded aggressively on the door, making Sans jump and mutter a curse under his breath. He signaled for you to be quiet with a phalange to his teeth.

There was more pounding followed by gruff, angry shouting.  

“SANS!! I HEARD YOU IN THERE JUST A MOMENT AGO, NOW OPEN THIS DOOR IMMEDIATELY OR I SHALL BE FORCED TO BREAK IT DOWN MYSELF!”

Sans flinched, and quickly motioned for you to stand against the wall behind the door.

“Why?” you hissed quietly.

He gave you a frustrated look. “jus’ do it!”

You sighed and grumpily walked over.

Once you were in place, he took a deep breath, plastered a smile on his face, and cracked open the door a bit.

“oh, hey boss. howzit goin’?”

“YOU KNOW HOW IT’S ‘GOING,’ BROTHER,” the visitor grumbled, still at a loud volume. “YOU HAVEN’T CALLED TO REPORT IN OVER A WEEK, AND YOUR TEXTS HAVE FAILED TO INCLUDE THE PICTURES OF DOOMFANGER I REQUESTED.”

So was this Sans’s brother? He had called him “boss,” but seeing as he liked to call you “doll” you figured it was probably just a nickname. Also, the voice didn’t sound like Grillby’s, so unless he had a boss from a second job you didn’t know about, it had to be his brother.

“sorry, i’ve jus’ been busy.”

“HA! BUSY? I FIND THAT HARD TO BELIEVE COMING FROM ONE SO DISGUSTINGLY IDLE AS YOU. NOW LET ME IN, YOU IDIOT. IT’S HORRIBLY RUDE TO KEEP ME STANDING OUT HERE.”

What kind of person insults their brother like that? On second thought, maybe he was Sans’s second boss.

The door started to push towards you, but Sans forced it back.

“i-i would, but it’s really l-late and i need t’get some shut-eye for tomorrow.” You could see little red translucent drops of sweat starting to form on his skull.  

“IT’S NOT LATE, IT’S EARLY, AND WITH THE AMOUNT OF NAPPING YOU DO DURING THE DAY YOU’LL BE FINE SKIPPING A FEW HOURS,” his brother scoffed. “ALSO, I WISELY TOOK MY NEEDED FOUR HOURS OF SLEEP EARLY SO I COULD COME VISIT YOU BEFORE HEADING OFF TO WORK. IF YOU THINK I’M GOING TO LET THAT EFFORT GO TO WASTE—”

“ _Mrow!_ ” The sound came from somewhere on the other side of the door where you couldn’t see.

“YOU HEAR THAT? DOOMFANGER HAS CLEARLY MISSED HER MASTER.”

With that, the door burst open, smashing you harshly against the wall. A pained grunt escaped you in your surprise.

“SANS, WHAT WAS THAT?”

“uh, t-that was jus’ me. i didn’t expect ya t’open the door s-so fast.”

“IT DIDN’T SOUND LIKE YOU! AS WEAK AS YOU ARE, IT WAS DEFINITELY MORE… FEMININE.”   

“boss, wait! no—!”  

The door was hastily swung away from you, revealing a very nervous Sans and an even taller, angry skeleton. He towered maybe seven feet tall, his form much more thin and angular than Sans. His sharp teeth were set in a grimace, and red eyelights glared down at you through narrowed sockets. His attire was comprised entirely of spiky black and red leather, apart from the red scarf wrapped around his neck.

“Hey there.” You waved awkwardly.

“A HUMAN! AT THIS HOUR?! SANS, EXPLAIN AT ONCE!” he raged, gloved hands flying to his hips.

“s-she’s just a friend! she was—”

“I came over to borrow something,” you interrupted, not really wanting anyone else to know you’d been hostilely pursued, “but I’m just his neighbor, we’re not—”

Sans gave you a questioning look as his brother cut in. “WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE BORROWING THAT COULDN’T WAIT UNTIL A REASONABLE HOUR?”

“You’re here at an unreasonable hour too, you know,” you pointed out, trying to deflect the conversation.

“THAT’S DIFFERENT! I AM HERE TO SHOW FAMILIAL SUPPORT AND LOYALTY TO OUR BROTHERLY BOND. NOT THAT I WOULD EXPECT A BASE CREATURE SUCH AS YOURSELF TO UNDERSTAND.” He took a moment to peer at you suspiciously. “UNLESS YOU, TOO, ARE HERE TO SHOW FEALTY TO YOUR RELATIONSHIP. IN WHICH CASE, LIKE MYSELF, YOU ARE EXTREMELY DEDICATED.”

“But I’m not—” you tried to protest.

“HOWEVER, I CANNOT ALLOW MY BROTHER TO BE CLOSE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE WHO IS UNWORTHY OF THAT HONOR. THEREFORE, I, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS, CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!” He smirked malevolently.

“What?! Are you insane?” You looked over to Sans for help.

“uh, fightin’ a human probably isn’t the best idea, boss. legally and all.” He scratched his skull.

“I-I KNEW THAT, YOU IMBICILE!” Papyrus fumed. “INSTEAD OF A DUEL OF STRENGTH, IT WILL BE A DUEL OF WITS, OBVIOUSLY! WE WILL GO HEAD-TO-HEAD IN A SERIES OF STRATEGY GAMES. OF COURSE, THERE IS NO WAY YOU WILL BE ABLE TO BEAT MY KEEN INTELLECT AND SKILL, BUT IF YOU FARE WELL THEN MAYBE I WILL CONSIDER YOU WORTHY OF MY BROTHER’S FRIENDSHIP.”

Disbelief and confusion written on your face, you once again turned to Sans, expecting help. To your utter shock, his previous anxiety towards the situation was gone, replaced with amusement. He seemed to be barely restraining a laugh.

“I think it’s a little late for me tonight.” You faked a yawn. “I’m just going to head on home to bed, but maybe we can do this another time.”

Papyrus growled. “NONSENSE! ARE YOU NOT THE HUMAN WHO SANS INFORMS ME BLASTS UNBEARABLE MUSIC AT ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT?”

“yep, she’s the one,” Sans affirmed. You wanted to punch his smug jaw so bad.

“THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE NO ISSUES STAYING AWAKE.”

Sighing, you pinched the bridge of your nose. “Look,” you said, “there’s no need for this stupid duel because I’m not friends with Sans.”

"HMM… THIS IS MORE SERIOUS THAN I THOUGHT." Papyrus tapped his mandible. "IN FACT, I THINK I HAVE FIGURED OUT YOUR REAL MOTIVATIONS."

"My _real_ motivations?" You raised an eyebrow.

"THE TRUTH IS YOU ARE MADLY IN LOVE WITH SANS!"

"W-what?!” you sputtered. “That's ridiculous!" How did he jump to that conclusion? You glanced over at Sans who was trying to hold back snickers.

"YOU CAN'T LIE TO ME, HUMAN! THE FACT THAT YOU TRY AND DENY IT SO ADAMANTLY ONLY MAKES IT MORE APPARENT!"

"heh, i didn't know you were into me like that, sweetheart," Sans teased with a wink. How a skeleton had the ability to wink was beyond you.

You let out an exasperated groan. "I'm really not!"

"YOUR ATTEMPTS TO REFUTE THIS HAVE GROWN TIRESOME. WE MUST BEGIN IMMEDIATELY! SANS, BRING OUT THE GAMES!"

"on it, boss," the shorter skeleton said, suddenly disappearing. You stared fascinated at the now empty space.

The silence in his absence started to grow awkward. Looking around at anything else, you spotted a fluffy black cat on the couch.

"Oh hey, kitty," you called, bending forward and extending a hand.

"HER NAME IS DOOMFANGER." Papyrus said, making you jump a little at the air being filled with his loud tone. "SHE ONLY ANSWERS TO ME."

The cat blinked at you, tail twitching, then stood up and stretched. She jumped down and lazily made her way across the carpet, taking a moment to sniff your hand curiously. Her orange eyes glared threateningly up at yours, a low growl escaping her throat. Sauntering past you, she flicked her tail up in dismissal and went to rub her fur affectionately against Papyrus's boots.

The tall monster's face gleamed with gloating satisfaction. "HA, SEE. SHE KNOWS HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IMMACULATE PERFECTION AND FILTH." He bent down to scratch the little beast behind the ears.

If you rolled your eyes any harder they would've fallen out.  

It was then that Sans popped back, arms stacked full of various board games. His feet were inches away from Doomfanger causing her to jump back, swatting at his sneakers and hissing. The skeleton startled, and the harsh clatter of boxes tumbling to the floor sent the feline running.

“freakin’ furball,” he muttered, setting the rest of the boxes down.

“SANS, YOU CLUMSY BUFFOON! THIS IS WHY DOOMFANGER CAN’T STAND YOU! AND TO THINK SHE HAS TO LIVE WITH THIS BEHAVIOR EVERY SINGLE DAY!”  

Under his breath he replied, “tch. it’s more like the other way around.”

“WHAT WAS THAT?”

“Ok, are we going to play or do you want stand around and argue some more?” you asked impatiently. If this “duel” was going to happen, you wanted to get it over with.

Papyrus grunted, swiping a game from on top of the pile. “FINE. EVERYONE TO THE TABLE, NOW.”

You didn’t want to comply with that bossy attitude of his, but you went anyway.

“SANS, DO YOU EVER CLEAN? THIS IS UTTERLY DISGUSTING!” He was peering at the sticky, crumbed-over table.

“geez, boss. don’t embarrass me in front of my soon-to-be girlfriend,” Sans said dramatically, throwing you a cheeky grin as he went to retrieve a rag. You simply glared.

“WHY YOU WANT TO DATE THAT PILE OF LAZY BONES IS BEYOND ME.”

Remaining silent, you sat down. Anything you said at this point would only make it worse.

After the table was cleared, Papyrus set up a chess board. You grinned.

“IS SOMETHING AMUSING, HUMAN?” he sneered.

“Just the fact that you’re going to lose,” you answered coolly. “I’ve been playing this game for years.”

“PROVE IT.”

Trapping his king took a few turns longer than planned. He was better than you’d expected but still no match for you.

“Checkmate.”

“WAIT.” Papyrus sat with his arms crossed as he studied the layout. As the seconds ticked by, his expression grew increasingly irritated.

Sans, who had been asleep most of the game, spoke up after a couple minutes of the strange silence. “uh, boss?”

“QUIET! I’M THINKING!” he snapped.

A moment later you spoke up. “Admit it; I’ve won.” 

His cheekbones grew red, and he refused to meet your eyes. “NYAH!!” His hand went up to flip the board off the table, black and white pieces peppering the kitchen tile. “THIS GAME HAS NO REAL-WORLD APPLICATION ANYWAY! UNLIKE THIS NEXT ONE!” He stomped off to the pile of games.

You shrugged, doubting any game had more real-world application than chess.

Returning, he smacked a box down in front of you. “SEE IF YOU CAN BEAT ME AT THIS!”

“Monopoly? You realize this game requires less skill and more luck than the last one, right?”

“HA! THAT’S WHERE YOU’RE WRONG! LIFE REQUIRES THAT WE TAKE WHAT IS GIVEN TO US AND USE IT TO OUR ADVANTAGE. THAT REQUIRES REAL SKILL.”

Well, when he put it that way it actually made sense. “That’s surprisingly deep.”

“isn’t my bro the coolest?” Sans grinned proudly.

“I’M SO COOL, IN FACT, THAT I’M ALLOWING YOU TO PLAY, AS WELL.”        

“no thanks. i don’t do board games.”

“LET ME REPHRASE THAT: I’M COMMANDING YOU TO PLAY.”

“whadda ya need me for?” he whined.

“ACCURATELY SIMULATING THE VARIABLES OF LIFE REQUIRES A THIRD PERSON.”

Seeing an opportunity to share your discomfort, you added, “Yeah, come on, Sansy. Monopoly is boring with only two people.”

He growled as he scooted his chair closer to the table. “whatever. but don’t expect me to try or nothin’."

__________

“HUMAN,” Papyrus said, staring at you intensely. “I AM PREPARED TO TRADE YOU A THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR PARK PLACE.” He held out the fake money.

“Mmm… no,” you shrugged.

“IT IS MORE THAN A FAIR DEAL.”

“Not to me.”

He did his best to hold in an angry noise. “TWO THOUSAND.”

“Still no.”

Grumbling, he reluctantly pulled back his money.

Now it was Sans’s turn. After he rolled the dice and moved his piece, he turned to you. “i’ll trade ya new york ave for park place.”

“Sure,” you said, handing the card over.

Papyrus gaped. “WHAT IS THIS?! YOU TWO ARE SCHEMING AGAINST ME!”

“No, Sans just actually had something I wanted.”

“I SMELL SUBTERFUGE.”

“nah, boss. here, i’ll trade ya for three thousand.”

“…TWO THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED.”

“deal.” Sans grinned greedily, adding the money to his thick stack.

Frowning, you asked, “I thought we _weren’t_ going to let him add to his hotel reign of terror.”

“I KNEW IT.”

“psh, the only thing that concerns me is the dough.”

A painfully long two hours later, Sans somehow came out the winner. He turned out to be quite the skilled conman.

“HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?” raged Papyrus at having lost the last of his money.

“I’m just as confused as you.” Though you were a little pleased that he’d lost.

“sounds like i beat you two _cents-_ less.”

“SANS! I WILL NOT STAND FOR YOUR GAG-INDUCING HUMOR!”

“oh, come on.” Sans smiled devilishly. “you didn’t you find my joke even a little _money_?”

Papyrus ignored him, standing to retrieve yet another game. On his way, he tipped over his brother’s chair, but the laughing skeleton just teleported to a safer location.

The next couple of hours went by faster, and you actually started to enjoy yourself. It had been a very long time since you’d played anything other than gambling card games with real live people in person. You didn’t want to admit it, but you liked it. 

The other games you ended up playing were Battleship, which Papyrus won, and Trouble, which Sans won (though you were pretty sure he cheated somehow because the di always landed on sixes and fives for him).

“SEEING AS THE OUTCOME WAS A TIE BETWEEN THE TWO OF US,” Papyrus said to you, arms folded, “I WILL… RELUCTANTLY… ALLOW YOU TO STAY FRIENDS WITH MY BROTHER.”

“Oh great,” you said sarcastically.

“BUT DO NOT PRESUME THIS MEANS YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO DATE HIM!” he continued. “THERE ARE OTHER TESTS YOU MUST PASS TO PROVE YOU ARE A WORTHY COMPANION.”  

“I’m sure,” you yawned.

He frowned at your less than enthusiastic response. “I MUST LEAVE FOR WORK NOW, BROTHER. DO NOT LET THE HUMAN ENSNARE YOU WITH HER FEMALE CHARMS WHILE I AM GONE.”

“don’t worry, i think it’ll be the other way around,” Sans wiggled his browbones at you.

If looks could kill, he’d be dust where he stood. “I’m leaving, too.”

“WISE DECISION, HUMAN.” With that, he stepped out the door, shutting it forcefully.

“Is he always that loud?” you asked Sans.

“ever since he was a babybones,” he shrugged.

“…Welp, I’d better go. I need sleep,” you said, moving for the door.

“wait, doll.”

“Seriously, if you try to put the moves on me, I’ll kick your boney butt.”

His face glowed red. “i-i was only kiddin’ about that stuff,” he stammered. “mostly…”

“So what then?”

“i was jus’ thinkin’, since you were in a tight spot earlier with that guy chasin’ ya… maybe we should exchange numbers. you know, so you can call me if it happens again.” He scratched the back of his skull.

You thought for a moment. Exchanging numbers was usually a “friend” thing to do, but… Sans’s teleportation was super helpful. The stalker wasn’t likely to give up so soon, and you had to go out to feed. It would be stupid of you not to accept Sans’s help.

“Okay,” you finally agreed.  

Sans looked surprised. “really?”

“Really really.” Sighing, you unlocked your phone and extended it to him. “Here.”

He handed you his phone in return, and you both punched in your info.

“i mean it, if ya get into trouble again jus’ tell me where ya are and i’ll show up. doesn’t matter if i’m at work or sleepin’ or whatever.”  

“Thanks,” you answered awkwardly. There it was again, someone doing something nice for you. “I guess I’ll see you later, then.”

“yeah.”

You gave a small smile and left, fast-walking to get back out of the morning sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited about how much attention this story has gotten so far!! It's beyond my expectations, so thank you all for reading this fic!
> 
> Also, I'm starting a new job tonight. I'm going to do my best to update every week, but it may end up being every week-and-a-half. I'll try really hard to make sure it's once a week though!
> 
> Next chapter Sans is going to bring up the dreaded "friend" word. Will you push him away like poor Burgerpants, or can he convince you to give him a chance???


	6. What Are Friends For?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans becomes your chauffeur. Prepare for angst at the end~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in over two weeks! I have less free time than I thought with my new job, but fear not! I will continue to update! Another reason this one took awhile is because of the length. It's the longest chapter I've written so far! I almost split it into two but couldn't find an even cut-off point. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Also, thank you all so much for your kudos and comments! This story surpassed 1000 hits and 100 kudos after I updated last time, and it made me so happy! I didn't think this little fic would get much attention, so thank you again!

Lying in bed, you stared at the soft light leaks around your tin-foiled window. Music blared into your ears from Sans’s headphones, but even that wasn’t enough to keep the thoughts from swirling around in your mind.

A lot happened last night. So much that it felt more like two nights.

First of all, there was that slayer. It was a little unexpected that they’d found you so soon. It meant that they either eliminated Marcus or gave up trying. But then why were they in Ebott? Maybe they thought Marcus was hiding out around here and happened to spot you in their search. You didn’t recall doing anything to draw attention to yourself otherwise. There was that sketchy gas station feeding on Wednesday, but from the surveillance footage there was no way anyone would gather you were a vampire… Actually, now that you remember, you did leave with quite the mess on your face. But does anyone even check those recordings?

Whatever the reason, this was not what you needed right now, not with your thirst being so unpredictable. That was the biggest issue at the moment. You really hoped Savio could dig up some information to help you. Becoming an uncontrollable, bloodthirsty beast wasn’t exactly a life’s goal of yours. And just when you thought your cursed life couldn’t get any more cursed.

Then there was that whole thing with poor Burgerpants. He seemed like a cool guy. You really hadn’t wanted to hurt him, but it was for the best. He would just end up hating you like the others. It would save both of you pain and heartache in the long run. Still, thinking about his expression when you rejected him formed a knot of regret, guilt, and sorrow in your stomach.

No, you had to push those feelings down and remind yourself it was necessary. You had done the right thing. There was no room to be kind in that situation. None at all.

A cold, dull feeling began ever so slightly to ache in your chest. It was familiar, like it had been there for a while, though you were just now becoming consciously aware of it. Strange. You didn’t know whether or not to be worried, but since it felt familiar you chose to ignore it for now. It was probably nothing.

Mind wandering again, you recalled the last few hours spent with Sans and Papyrus. You got roped into a “duel of wits,” meaning “board game challenge,” all because Papyrus was an overprotective brother. And then he thought you wanted to date Sans? What even?

As surprisingly fun as it turned out to be, it worried you. If Papyrus thought you were friends, Sans probably thought so, too. You were conflicted. On the one hand, you had a policy against that. You hadn’t just shot down a poor cat monster’s feeling for nothing. On the other, you kind of needed Sans. How else were you going to get out and feed with a slayer lurking around? If you told him you weren’t friends there was no way he would help you. Gah! Why did things have to be so complicated?

Maybe you could get away with keeping him at arm’s length. You didn’t have to be close friends or anything, just friendly neighbors. That would work. It still made you a little nervous, but it would have to do until you could hunt safely on your own again. Not that difficult, right?

__________ 

Wrong. Maybe it wouldn’t be as easy as you’d thought.

You were woken up around 4 that afternoon when your phone vibrated on top of the nightstand.

**_New Message From: skull candy_ **

What the…? That had to be Sans. Come to think of it, you’d never checked his contact info after he entered it into your phone. You opened the message.

 

**_skull candy:_ ** _hey doll hows it going_

**_you:_ ** _It was going better before you woke me up. What’s with the weird name?_

**_skull candy:_ ** _u like it? pretty clever huh_

**_you:_ ** _…I don’t get it_

**_skull candy:_ ** _like the company that sells headphones_

**_skull candy:_** _u know cuz i gave u mine_ :/

**_you:_ ** _Oh._

**_skull candy:_** _its also like eye candy_ ;)

**_you:_ ** _I’m changing it to Sans_

**_skull candy:_ ** _aw come on doll i heard u laughing through the wall_

**_you:_ ** _If you did, that’s only because it was so ridiculous_

**_you:_ ** _I’m going back to sleep_

**_skull candy:_ ** _wait_

**_skull candy:_ ** _its my night off so i was wondering if u wanted to grab something to eat_

**_you:_ ** _Can’t. I’m busy_

**_skull candy:_ ** _no prob maybe another time_

You didn’t reply, just turned off the screen and sighed. Rolling over, you closed your eyes and let sleep overtake you again.

__________

The next day you got another text, this time sent when you were awake.

 

**_Sans:_ ** _hey doll hope i didnt wake u up_

**_you:_** _No, I don’t sleep_ that _late_

**_Sans:_ ** _guess what i changed ur name to_

**_you:_ ** _Hm. Whatever could it be? -_-_

**_Sans:_ ** _sleeping beauty_

**_you:_** :p

**_Sans:_ ** _jk its doll_

**_you:_ ** _That was my first guess, but still…_

**_Sans:_ ** _anyway im off again. u free? i wanna take u out somewhere_

**_you:_ ** _…Are you asking me on a date???_

**_Sans:_** _i might be_ ;)

**_you:_ ** _Sorry, I’m busy_

**_Sans:_** :( _would u still be busy if i wasnt_

**_you:_ ** _Yes_

**_Sans:_ ** _busy with what_

**_you:_ ** _Work_

**_Sans:_ ** _ok then np_

Groaning, you put your phone down. Man, he was persistent. Hopefully he didn’t think you were purposefully avoiding him, even though you kinda were. And what was this?! He asked you on a date? This was venturing into red-flag territory for sure.

__________ 

Tuesday you felt your thirst start to creep back, and by Wednesday night you desperately needed to feed. It had only been four days, and that scared you. It was rapidly getting worse. You wished you knew what the problem was so you could fix it, reverse it, something.

What was more, after everything that happened Saturday you noticed yourself getting easily irritated by the slightest things. The cord to your headphones got twisted into a ball and you nearly snapped them in half in your struggle to untangle it. Then the internet cut out while you were researching for an article and you almost broke your keyboard jamming the buttons. It bothered you to feel so out of uncontrol.

Hopefully going out to feed would make you feel more like yourself, though you kind of doubted it. First things first though, you needed to text Sans. There was no way you were going to parade around town like last week with a slayer out to get you.

 

**_you:_ ** _Hey Sans, I need to ask you a favor_

**_Sans:_** _i’ll do anything u want, doll_ ;)

**_you:_ ** _Could you take me to the drug store? You know, magically? I need a couple things._

**_Sans:_ ** _i could, but…_

**_you:_ ** _But what? -_-_

 

Sighing, you nervously anticipated his response. You should’ve known this guy wouldn’t do anything for free.

 

**_Sans:_ ** _hang out at grillbys with me first_

 

Crap. If you didn’t need his help so bad…

 

**_you:_** _Ok. When?_

**_Sans:_ ** _how about 1:30, an hour before quittin time? then we can go right after_

**_you:_** _I don’t have to walk, do I?_  

**_Sans:_ ** _geez, are u really that scared of this guy_

**_you:_ ** _No, I’m trying to lay low for a while, just in case_

**_Sans:_ ** _alright i’ll come get u. see u in a few hours_

Hanging out at Grillby’s didn’t seem so bad. It was only for an hour, and he’d be working. It could be worse. He could’ve forced you to go on that date you refused him.

You got up off the couch to shower and get ready.

__________

 

At 1:30 there was a knock at your door. You opened it to a grinning skeleton, his hands comfortably in his jacket pockets.

“heya, doll. you sure look nice.” He winked. “didja dress up jus’ for me?”

“I didn’t dress up,” you huffed. “These are my normal clothes.”

“are you _shirt_?”

“Gosh Sans, please no,” you moaned.

“you’re right, you look good all the time. must be in your _jeans_.”

Admittedly, his puns were pretty good, but there was no way you were going to let him know that. Covering your face to hide a smile, you cried, “Can we go already?”

“alright, alright,” he snickered. “c’mere.”

Reluctantly you stepped close to him, shutting your door. He snaked an arm around your waist, pulling you flush against his side. Immediately, you felt the strange sensation of reality squeezing around you. The cool night air outside your apartment was replaced with the warm, thick smell of alcohol and grease as you were suddenly standing inside Grillby’s.

Your vision was spinning, but since you’d been expecting it this time you managed to shake it off quickly. Wow, was magic amazing! To be in one place and then instantly another was like nothing you’d ever experienced in all your years on this planet. Curiosity filled you as you wondered what other incredible powers monster had.

The enchanted feeling disappeared when Sans spoke.

“you can let go’a me now, sweetheart,” he chuckled amusedly, his breath skimming softly across your hair.

Mortified, you looked down to see that in the midst of your teleportation excitement you had grabbed fistfuls of his jacket. You let go as if it were white-hot and took a large step back. Deciding to just pretend it never happened, you made a beeline for the bar. Sans followed at a slower pace.

On your way, you recognized some of the patrons you’d seen last time. A few of them had been staring when you made your entrance. There was a group of dog monsters gathered around a couple tables playing cards, a crusty fish man at the far edge of the bar, and a very tipsy orange rabbit at a booth in the corner.

As you seated yourself on a barstool, Grillby moved from his place behind the counter to greet you.

“Y/n, it’s a pleasure to see you here again,” he said, the bright purple flames of his body crackling softly.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” you replied politely as Sans took a seat next to you.

“I will admit, I didn’t think you’d come back here in the company of this oaf,” the flamesman smirked.          

“hey, i’m a classy oaf,” Sans grumbled proudly.

“How could I not come back when your burgers are so amazing?” you smiled.

Grillby nodded in gratitude.

“Oh, speaking of which, I was writing an article about monster-established restaurants and decided to include a review of this place. Hopefully you’ll see a boost in the number of human customers you get here.”

The corners of his jagged white mouth pulled up in a wide grin. “You have just become my new favorite customer.”

“heh, if you’d said that to anyone else i’d be offended,” Sans confessed.

“You work here,” Grillby answered dismissively.

The skeleton shrugged. “that reminds me, i’m on my meal break. i’ll have my usual.”

After frowning at him, Grillby turned a smile to you. “And what can I get for you, my dear? It’s on the house as a token of my appreciation.”

"Oh, wow. Thank you." Once again you were astonished at his kindness. "I'll have one of those amazing burgers and a water again, please."

He simply nodded and went to fill the order.

"so," began Sans, "'s that your job, then? writin' articles?"

"Yep," you answered, fiddling with the end of a straw wrapper on the counter. "I work freelance, so I write for a few different places."

"huh." He leaned an elbow on the counter. "ain't that somethin' you can do durin' the day?"

"What do you mean?"

"you stay up all night, right?"

You studied his expression for a split second but found only pure curiosity. You proceeded to give the scripted answer you kept in reserve for this type of question. "Yeah, I just happen to like night time better. It's a lot calmer. I'm not much of a people person."

He grunted in acknowledgment. "i'm usually up at night too. for different reasons, though."

"Oh?"

"can't sleep."

"Insomnia?"

"nah, it's..." he turned away, a faint glow lighting his face. Finally, he mumbled sheepishly, "i don't really like t’talk about it."

You wondered what it was he could be so embarrassed about. Appreciating his right to secrets (as you had plenty of your own), you just shrugged.

"Guess my music didn't help much with that," you said, frowning. "Sorry."

He turned to you, his signature grin having returned. "'s fine, it wasn't every day or nothin'."

Grillby appeared with your orders. “Here you are, my dear,” he said, placing a steaming plate in front of you.

“Thanks, it smells delicious.” Your mouth was watering.

He set Sans’s “usual” down as well. It was a burger and fries just like yours. That is, until Sans grabbed a mustard bottle and began drowning everything in the yellow liquid.

“That’s disgusting,” you grimaced.

“don’t knock it ‘til ya try it.” He brought the condiment-saturated burger up to his mouth, sharp teeth chomping down.

Once again, you marveled at how the food wasn’t falling out the bottom of his jaw. Then you noticed how messily he was eating, excess mustard smeared all over his teeth and dripping down his chin. And he made fun of _you_ last week for not being able to keep food in your mouth!

A smirk growing, you decided to use his own words against him. “Saving that for later?”

He paused, having been about to take another bite, and looked up with a half-lidded stare. To your surprise, a glowing red, translucent tongue slipped out from between his teeth and slowly swiped around to collect the mustard.

You looked away, feeling simultaneously uncomfortable with the display and intrigued that a skeleton even had a tongue.

Suddenly your food became very interesting. Thankfully your appetite had managed to hold, because when you took a bite it was even better than you remembered.

Both of you ate in silence, enjoying your meals too much to open your mouths for anything else. After you finished, Sans introduced you to the group of dogs. They were hostile at first but seemed to warm up to you as you talked with them a bit. They even invited you to play cards with them sometime. Then you sat back and watched as all the customers filed out at closing time. Thanking Grillby once again, you and Sans exited as well.

“so where is it ya needed t'go to?” Sans asked as you stood in the alley beside the bar.

“Do you know the drug store on the corner of Chestnut and Main?” you asked.

“it doesn't sound familiar, but i know those streets,” he shrugged. “c’mere, doll.” An arm was extended as he grinned down at you.

Letting out a small sigh, you reluctantly stepped close so he could hold onto you. That now-familiar feeling of warping space enveloped you, and you were suddenly on the corner of a sidewalk facing the drug store.

“this it?”

“Yeah.” You sidestepped out of Sans’s hold. “Would you mind waiting out here while I go in?”

“why?”

Trying your best to look uncomfortable, you replied, “I… I have to get… girl stuff.”

“what the stars does that mean?” He looked a little taken aback by your awkwardness.

That’s right, he probably knew very little about human biology. “Look it up.” You didn’t meet his eyes as you fast-walked past him, hunching your shoulders. “Stay out here!”

Sans was extremely confused, but stayed put. Glancing back, you saw him whip out his phone, probably to search for what you were talking about.

After luring the cashier back into the bathroom so you could feed, you wiped their memory and bought a box of tampons. Of course, you didn’t need them as a vampire, but you had to keep up your cover story.

You returned outside to a glowing red Sans. He reminded you of a dim lamp, and you almost giggled out loud.

“What’s wrong?” you teased as you drew closer.

“nothin’…” he glanced at the plastic bag you held and then quickly away.

“Are you glad you didn’t come with?”

He stiffened when you stood next to him, then seemed to relax a little.

“heheh,” he chuckled nervously, his blush deepening. “the smell scared me for a sec.”

“What sme—” Could he smell the blood on your breath? “Oh.” That was potentially problematic. 

“is t-that all ya got?” It seemed he was trying to change the subject, thankfully.

“Yeah, why?”

“you didn’t get food or nothin’?”

“Uh…” you weren’t prepared for that.

“how long’s it been since ya bought food?”

“Um, I think…like…” Crud. Where did your good lying skills go?

“heh, i thought so.” He grinned. “guess we’ll be makin’ a grocery trip.”

“But, uh…” You were having a hard time coming up with an excuse.

His arms crossed. “ya hafta eat, doll.”

Sighing, you relented. “Fine.” Whatever kept up the charade.

“good, we’ll go t’morrow.” He winked, pulling you close once again.

“Hey—!” you started to protest at the sudden contact before you were teleported outside your apartment door. You blinked, dazed by the unannounced trip.

“so howzabout five o’clock?”

“That’s too early,” you groaned, trying to see straight again.

“geez, you sleep longer than me. it’s the latest i got, unless you wanna go in the morning.”

Either way it was going to be sunny, but at least you’d be inside, right? Reluctantly you responded, “Five is fine.”

“good.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “you know, i had fun tonight. we should hang out more often.”

Surprisingly, you’d enjoyed yourself more than you cared to admit. “Yeah.” You nodded. Wait, had you _actually_ just agreed to that? What happened to not admitting it?

“heh, well g’night, doll. see ya t’morrow.” He gave a small wave and walked towards his apartment.

“Goodnight.”

After stepping inside, you shut the door and leaned against it. What was that? Wasn’t spending time with people and making friends something to avoid? Plus, you were pretty sure Sans wanted to be more than friends with you, which was even worse. If there was one thing you vowed never to have again other than friendships, it was romantic relationships.

Sans _was_ a big help to you with that slayer around, though. And hardly knowing you, he cared enough to make sure you had enough to eat (even though you didn’t need to eat). The strange warmth in your chest that you’d felt after Sans gave you his headphones was back, but stronger this time. Again, you couldn’t quite recognize it, but it was distantly familiar. It was weird in contrast to the cold sensation you’d been feeling there lately, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

Despite that, the question of what to do about this situation was still present. It was apparent Sans was becoming too close to you. If things kept up, he was sure to figure out you weren’t human. The clues were all there, and you couldn’t make up excuses for or hide everything.

After the store trip you would just have to stay as distant as possible, at least until the slayer wasn’t a threat anymore. Then you could put physical distance between you. The thought… hurt. Why though? It’s not like you actually liked Sans. Right?

__________

Sans jolted awake as his phone rang beside him on the nightstand. His alarm clock told him it was only 6am. Whatever jerk was calling him this early was going to regret it.

Growling, he snatched up the phone. Oh, it was Papyrus… He loved his brother, but _stars_ it was too early for this. He sent him to voicemail, mentally promising to call back later. Just as he rested his head back on the pillow, the phone rang again. He groaned, reluctantly picking it back up.

“what’s up, boss?” he answered blearily.

“SANS, NEXT TIME I EXPECT YOU TO ANSWER THE FIRST TIME I CALL. I DON’T HAVE ALL DAY TO WASTE, YOU KNOW.”

“yeah, sorry. i was sleeping.”

“OF COURSE YOU WERE. I’M AWARE OF YOU’RE TERMINAL LAZINESS. ANYWAYS, I’M CALLING TO CHECK UP ON DOOMFANGER. IS SHE GETTING ENOUGH EXERCISE? WHEN I WAS OVER THE OTHER DAY SHE LOOKED FATTER. YOUR LETHARGY BETTER NOT BE RUBBING OFF ON HER.”

“she’s fine. that spinny toy thing ya got her keeps her busy.”    

“GOOD. NOW UPDATE ME ON THE HUMAN. HOW ARE THE FRIENDSHIP ACTIVITIES GOING?”

“...friendship activities?” Sans echoed.

“YES! HAS FRISK TAUGHT YOU NOTHING? WHEN YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE IT IS MANDATORY TO DO ACTIVITIES TOGETHER TO KEEP YOUR RELATIONSHIP STRONG.”

“right. uh, last night we hung out at grillby's, 'n then i took her to the store.”

“THE STORE?”

“yeah, 'n i'm takin' her grocery shoppin' later today.”

“HMM. SANS, TAKING SOMEONE TO THE STORE ISN'T A FRIENDSHIP ACTIVITY. IT SOUNDS MORE LIKE YOU'RE HER CHAUFFEUR.”

He knew it wasn't an “activity” or whatever, but you hadn’t forced him to take you.

“it's not like that, boss.”

“ARE YOU SURE? SHE'S PROBABLY USING YOU.”

“nah, she would never. doesn't seem like the type.”

“IS SHE DOING ANYTHING FOR YOU IN RETURN?”

“well, she agreed to hang out at grillby's with me if i took her.”

“…SHE ONLY AGREED TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU IF YOU DID HER A FAVOR?”

“y-yeah, but she liked hangin' out.”

“DID SHE? HOW DID SHE ACT?”

“um, well, she...” Thinking about it, you hadn't exactly seemed thrilled most of the time.

“IF IT WAS ANYTHING LIKE THE GAME NIGHT WE HAD, SHE DIDN'T SEEM INTERESTED IN BEING THERE.”

Now that he thought about it, you _had_ seemed that way...

“that's just her personality.”

“IS IT?”

Wasn’t it?

Sans was getting frustrated. “why are ya askin' me so many questions?”

“I’M JUST MAKING SURE YOU’RE SEEING THINGS CLEARLY. IF MY OWN BROTHER WAS JAPED BY A HUMAN, IT WOULD TARNISH MY TERRIFYING REPUTATION.”

“you’re right, i’ll pay better attention from now on,” he said to appease him, rolling his eyes.

“EXCELLENT. I WILL BE CALLING FOR ANOTHER UPDATE IN TWO DAYS. BE SURE YOU ANSWER QUICKLY. I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THAT INSUFFERABLE ROBOT TELLING ME WHAT TO DO AGAIN.”

“got it boss. talk t’ya later.”

“GOODBYE, SANS.”

_Click._

He didn’t know if he believed Papyrus about you using him, but the conversation had left him unsettled for sure. There was no way it was true. Right?

__________

 

Sans arrived a few minutes after five. You popped up off the couch and grabbed your purse, ready for another excursion. That wasn’t excitement you felt, was it? Probably more like anxiety over going out during the day.

You opened the door, greeting Sans and blinking at the bright light that assaulted your eyes.

“hey, doll.” He sounded less enthused than usual. “what store are we going to today?”

That was odd. He just got straight to the point. No flirting or compliments.

“Uh, I don’t know.” You hadn’t thought about it. “Maybe… are there grocery stores around that sell monster food?” If you were going to spend money, it might as well be on stuff that you could actually eat.

“yeah, there’s one. you’d rather get monster food?”

You shrugged. “It tastes better than human food.”

“heh, you know that’s right,” Sans chuckled. “let’s get goin’ then.”

Just like that, he seemed to be back to his normal self. Odd.

Stepping into his outstretched arm, you blinked away, appearing just outside the sliding doors of the store.

As the two of you walked in, you had a thought. “Hey, what if someone was coming in or out of those doors and we appeared in front of them? Or on them? Is that possible?”

“well, when i appear in the same space as someone we jus’ kinda get repelled by each other, like two magnets with opposite poles. as for people runnin’ into me... heheh.” He scratched his skull. “it’s happened a couple’a times.”

“Then why do you keep teleporting in front of entrances?”

“i know it's dumb, but that's just how i picture the place in my mind most of the time.”

You grabbed a small shopping cart. “Oh, so you have to picture the location?”

“yep. means i can only go somewhere i’ve seen before.”

“Can you go to a place you've only ever seen pictures of?”

“dunno, never tried.”

You looked around, pretty lost on what to buy. Not having gone grocery shopping for a long time, you didn’t know what was typical.

“What do _you_ usually eat?” Maybe he could give you some ideas.

He laughed. “burgers, fries, and mustard. sometimes those microwave dinners.”

“That doesn’t sound healthy,” you grimaced. Pre-made meals were a viable option though…

Sans shrugged. “i don’t cook.”

Heading towards the freezer isle, you mumbled, “I used to cook.”

He turned his eyelights curiously to you. “used to? why’d ya stop?”

“I lost motivation.”

Cooking and baking used to be one of your favorite pastimes, even as a vampire. Though you couldn’t eat any of it yourself, you gave it away to appreciative neighbors and friends. The cooking process was cathartic, and to make something that put such smiles on people’s faces had been so satisfying. All of that stopped, of course, when you lost hope of ever having friends again.

“i can understand that,” Sans said, seeing your expression. “’s happened to me before.”   He looked distantly off somewhere else.

You peered up at him. Clearly there was more to this skeleton than his flirtatious, lazy, and joking exterior.

“anyways, i thought ya said these weren’t healthy.” He nodded to the frozen food you stood in front of.

“Did I?” you mused, scanning the shelves. Opening one of the doors, you grabbed a pepperoni pizza. You’d never had one of those before. Ooh, and hot wings. And corn dogs. And ice cream! So many new things to try, and they were probably all delicious!

“whoa, doll,” Sans chuckled. “i wouldn’ta figured you as the junk food type.”

“I don’t usually eat like this,” you said embarrassedly, dropping everything into the cart. You didn’t usually eat at all.

He gave you a knowing glance. “mmhmm.”

“I think I have enough food to last the week now.”

“good, you should get outta this isle…”

You whipped around to him, offended. “I have self-control, Sans. I’m not going—”

“cuz you’re about to melt all this stuff.”

“Why would—” you stopped, realizing what he was implying. Frowning, you quickly walked past him out of the isle. “I’m leaving because you're weird,” you clarified.

“i was jus’ bein' _ice_ , sweetheart,” he sniggered, following behind. “why d’ya gotta give me the _cold_ shoulder?”

You _might’ve_ laughed if you hadn't been so embarrassed. Why were _you_ embarrassed, anyway? He was the one saying weird things...

On your way up to the checkout line, you passed through the baking isle. One glance at the chocolate chips made you freeze.

Caught off guard by the sudden pause, Sans bumped into you.

“oof! what’s the holdup?”

“I think... I want to make chocolate chip cookies.”

They were invented less than a century ago, so you’d never made them before. In movies and tv shows you would always see doting grandmas and loving mothers with a warm batch ready for their children. It seemed like such a staple comfort food/dessert nowadays, and you’d always wanted to try baking them but never had anyone to give them to. Now that you could eat them yourself, the opportunity was too good to pass up.

“okay then, what’s stoppin’ ya?”

“Well... I don’t know what ingredients to buy. I don’t have a recipe.”

“they usually have one on the back’a these things.” Sans picked up a bag of chocolate chips and flipped it over. “yep, all you need, right here.”

“Oh.” You took the bag and looked over the ingredients curiously. With Sans’s help, you collected everything and wheeled your cart up to the check out.

“Shoot,” you muttered as you stood in line. “I don’t have mixing bowls or a cookie sheet or anything.” Or forks, or spoons, or plates, now that you were thinking about it.

Sans stared. “you really don’t cook anymore, do you?”

“Don’t judge. I bet you don’t have any of those things either.”

“heh, true enough.” He leaned on the cart. “’s okay, we can stop by another store.”

And you did. First you popped back home to put away the groceries, then Sans took you to a human supermarket where you bought the cheapest supplies possible. You were probably only going to use them a couple times, and you’d already spent enough money on the food.

When you got back home, you let Sans help carry in your bags. He was being uncharacteristically silent.

“So, uh, thanks for helping me out,” you said as he set the bags on the counter.

Shrugging, he replied, “’s no problem. what’re friends for?”

You stiffened at this. What should you say? Should you even say anything? They guy had just gone out of his way for you after all.

He seemed to notice your reaction. “we _are_ friends, aren’t we?”

Darn it, you hadn’t wanted a confrontation like this, especially so soon. But you had to draw the line somewhere.

Taking a moment to steel your mind, you folded your arms comfortingly across your chest. Softly you said, “Not really.” You so didn't want to do this.

“doll, whadda mean?” He sounded hurt, and in that moment you almost couldn’t go through with it.

“I mean, I can’t be friends with someone who wants to be something more.”

“hey, if ya don’t like me like that i won’t force ya. i ain’t that type’a guy.”

“I know, but...” And cue the irrational excuse. “I just wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing you still liked me that way… It’s… complicated.”

“it doesn’t have t’be.”

“But it is.”

“what’s so complicated about it?” The way you avoided eye contact seemed to make a lightbulb go off in his head, and his expression darkened. “it's because i’m a monster, ain’t it?”

You stayed silent. That wasn’t it, but if him believing it was made this easier…

His hurt turned to irritation. “you humans think _we’re_ so terrible, but _you’re_ the ones who won’t even give us a chance!”

Flinching at his tone, you backed away. “I’m sorry, I think you should leave.” You’d said what you had to, and now it just hurt more seeing him angry at you.

Scowling, he said, “i knew it. i knew it from the start, you’re jus’ like the rest of your kind. if ya hate me so much, why’d ya go and use me?”

Use him? That stung, but he was right about it. “I don’t hate you, Sans, and I never meant to use you.” Tears welled, threatening to fall. “I just can’t be around you, anymore.” With that, you turned around and ran to your room, locking yourself in.

The slamming of your front door was heard, and you let out a ragged breath.

There, you had done it.  It was necessary. It was worth it in the long run. So why did it hurt so much? Why were you filled with such regret?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, Reader! Things start to look up next chapter!


	7. A Glimmer of Hope in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have an epiphany, and things start to look up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So I know last chapter was a downer, but hopefully this one will cheer you up a little. You probably noticed, the title of this chapter reflects the story title. We've reached a small turning point in the plot, and things are going to get more and more interesting!  
> Please leave a comment if you liked it! Your comments give me life and determination!

As you lay on your bed, your chest felt tight, a dull ache blooming from all the negative emotions swirling around inside. Knowing your actions were necessary didn’t make the pain any less. Much to your chagrin, you had actually begun to enjoy Sans’s company. His laid-back attitude and witty humor made him comfortable to be around, despite the occasional flirting. He had also cared about you, which is something you hadn’t experienced in a long time. You would’ve enjoyed having a friend like him around…

Stop. You had to remember it wouldn’t have worked out. It would’ve been like a ticking time bomb, exploding when he eventually found out your secret. Doing things this way, he still ended up hating you, but at least it was before you had grown close and attached. At least this way, he hated you for what you said and not for who you really were.

Memories of the last time such a thing happened flashed into your mind, hard as you tried to repress them. It had been nearly a century-and-a-half ago…

_A ginger-haired man burst through your cottage door, face flushed, expression full of ire. A light layer of snow from the storm dusted his hat and coat. The sudden entrance startled you, and you dropped the quilt you had been patching._

_“Brennan, you’re here late,” you said carefully, studying his movements as he came closer. “What’s the matter?” Usually mild-tempered and gentle, this behavior was very unlike him._

_“Aye, ‘what’s the matter’ indeed,” he sneered. “I just found out my lass is a bloody_ demon _.”_

_You started to sweat, eyes widening. “What are you talking about?”_

_He stopped a few feet away from where you sat, and you could smell the alcohol on his breath. “I followed you last night to see where it is you always run off to. Thought I was right about you when I saw you with Hank, but then I noticed the blood.” Spitting in disgust, he turned his burning gaze to stare just past you. “Seems the folktales about vampires are true.”_

_Fear threatened to overwhelm you, blood pumping in your ears. This wasn’t happening, not again! You had been so careful this time, or tried to be._

_You tried to keep your voice calm, but it trembled despite your efforts. “I-it’s not what it looked like. He w-was hurt, and I—”_

_“I know what I saw.” He started to reach inside his coat pocket._

_“Brennan, just look at me,” you pleaded. If you could wipe his memory—_

_He chuckled darkly as he held up a silver cross, still avoiding eye contact. “The priest said you would try to control me. Aye, you probably have before.”_

_“I haven’t,” was your shaky reply. “I would never do that to you.” Your resolve to tamper with his mind faded. You stood slowly, reaching out to try and show him that you meant no harm, but he backed away a step, clutching the cross with both hands. Your heart dropped to see him so afraid of you._

_“Liar,” he hissed. “For what other reason could I have believed that I ever loved a creature like you?”_

_Hot tears sprang from your eyes, arm falling to your side. “I thought you would be different,” you sobbed. “I had hoped maybe you could look past this curse and love me for the person I am, but you won’t even give me a chance. You’re just like the rest.”_

_“You’re disgusting. A murderer and wretch.”_

_“I haven’t killed anyone, I swear!” At least, not in a very long time._

_“What about my sister?” He growled._

_You didn’t think it was possible to feel any more hurt. Was he really blaming that on you? “She died of the consumption. You know that.”_

_“And what about all those others that have fallen ill and died recently? Everyone’s heard the myths that it’s caused by a vampire’s bite.” He was absolutely shaking with rage._

_“They’re just myths, Brennan. It’s a disease!”_

_Suddenly the front door burst open again, and a group of loud, angry men came pushing through. It was the local marshal and his troop. You were too distraught to fight them as they roughly restrained you._

_“I hope you rot in hell, where you belong,” Brennan said. His cold expression and tone of voice made you feel like you were already there._

You shut your eyes tight at the painful memory, clutching a pillow close. You hoped no one would ever look at you with such intense hatred again.

Something about the memory bothered you, though. A few of the words you’d spoken felt very recently familiar. Where had you heard them? As you tried to remember, a rough, baritone voice rang out in your mind.

_“you humans think we’re so terrible, but you’re the ones who won’t even give us a chance!... you’re jus’ like the rest of your kind.”_

…

It was like a shockwave hit you.

Had you not said almost the exact same thing to Brennan all those years ago? Had you just made Sans feel that same, harsh rejection? Not only him, but Burgerpants, too… 

The discrimination you’d received your whole life as a vampire was the _very same_ that you’d dished out to those two monsters. Thanks to your fear and selfishness, you hadn’t meant to or even realized that was what you were doing, but it didn’t change the fact that they perceived it as such. It made you sick to think that you’d inflicted on them the very feelings you’d been trying so hard to avoid.

A few moments went by as you mulled over that thought, and then another one hit you.

Monsters were not humans. Well, duh, but how had you not made this connection before? Since they weren’t human, they didn’t have the same reasons to fear you, right? Did that mean… Could you possibly…

You slowly sat up, your eyes wide and brimming with tears as you felt a glimmer of HOPE. Maybe you didn’t have to be alone anymore. Maybe with monsters you didn’t have to worry about keeping your distance.

If only you had figured this out a little sooner! Sans and Burgerpants wouldn’t have gotten hurt. You’d just been so used to pushing everyone away, you hadn’t thought twice about it.

Could they even forgive you after that?

There was only one way to find out. With this small speck of hope, you felt determined to make things right. This was what you had wanted for so long, to be accepted and loved by others and return it in the same. Maybe the chance was here, right in front of you, after all this time.

A _lot_ of sincere apologizing was due, of course, but would that be enough…?

Remembering the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies you’d just bought, a small smile formed on your lips. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. It couldn’t hurt, at least, and now you had another excuse to dust off your baking skills. You got up, wiping your tears as you headed to the kitchen, the ache in your chest being slowly replaced with a comforting warmth.

__________

Sans stared disbelievingly as you ran to your room. What had just happened? Sure, he had been worried about what Papyrus had said about you, but he didn't think the confrontation would escalate like it did. His brother had been right about you using him, but it was worse than that. You utterly refused to hang around him because he was a monster, trying to lie about it under the excuse that you were uncomfortable about his feelings towards you. Turns out you were just another one of those specist humans.

This sucked. Ever since monsterkind had been released from the Underground, they had been treated as second class citizens. Frisk had given them all hope that humans would be loving and accepting towards their kind, but it seemed they like were barely tolerating them.

Fuming, Sans stomped out of your apartment, slamming the front door not only to show his anger, but so you would know he was gone. You knew he used shortcuts, but he didn't want there to be any reason for you to think he was still there. You'd probably call the police or something crazy like that.

Instead of going home, he popped straight to Grillby's. He couldn't stand the idea of you being just a wall away from him right now, and his shift started in a few minutes anyway.

The friendly atmosphere of the bar did nothing to affect his sour mood. He took a seat on a stool, slouching over the counter.

"You're here early," Grillby pointed out.

"i had nothin' better t'do," Sans mumbled, not making eye contact.

"Need a drink?"

He quirked a brow bone. " you're kiddin' right? i'm suppos'ta work in a few minutes."

"Well you can't work in your current condition, can you?" The flamesman grimaced.

Sans let out a long breath. "alright, why not?"

Grillby plopped down a shot glass and a bottle of mustard. "It's my special recipe this time," he said, proceeding to fill the glass.

Sans nodded. “thanks.” He knocked back the spiked condiment and gestured for another.

“I said _a_ drink, as in _one_.”

The skeleton shrugged, propping his skull up on his hands.

“So what is it that’s bothering you?”

“’s nothin’.”

Grillby gave him a look.

Groaning, he answered, “it’s that human, y/n.”

“What did you do?” Purple flames crackled curiously.

“why’re you assuming it was me?” he growled.

The flamesman just smirked.

“it was all her. said we can’t be friends because i’m a monster.” He rolled his eyelights.

The smirk faded to a frown. “That doesn’t sound right.”

“’course it doesn’t! it’s frickin’ specist or racist or whatever.”

“No,” Grillby said, crossing his arms. “I mean it doesn’t make sense. She came alone into a monster bar and seemed comfortable and friendly enough. On top of that, she wrote an article encouraging other humans to visit our establishments. Are you sure that’s what she said?”

Sans mulled this over for a moment. His friend had a point. It did seem strange that you would suddenly reveal your aversion to them after your actions spoke to the contrary. Come to think of it, you hadn’t explicitly said so. He had been the one to assume. Not that you had denied it, though.

Could it be that you actually were uncomfortable with the flirting and everything? His cheeks grew warm. Well now he felt like a bit of jerk for saying some of the things he had. You were still crazy not wanting to be friends with him for a reason like that, but it was a heck of a lot better than the alternative.

“Sans?”

He snapped out of his thoughts, frowning. “no… she didn’t exactly say that.”

The flame elemental’s glasses flashed in the low neon light. “So I ask again. What did you do?”

“i-i don’t know!” He muttered the next part almost inaudibly. “guess i flirted too much.”

Grillby clicked his tongue. “I’m not surprised.”

“i didn’t mean nothin’ by it. well, maybe a little,” he said, earning a look of disdain. It was just so hard to resist embarrassing you when it made you so cute. You got all flustered, and your face turned that pretty shade of pink.

“This is how you lose me all my customers.”

__________

Staring at the cookie ingredients spread along the counter, you began to feel excited and a little apprehensive. You were pretty confident in your culinary skills, but baking was a lot different now than it was a couple hundred years ago. Of course, you had watched shows and movies where people cooked, so it wasn't completely foreign to you. Also, things were much easier nowadays, so it really couldn't be that hard to figure out.

You preset the oven like the chocolate chip package instructed, marveling at how simple this all was. Technology had come a long way.

 Next you tried to use the hand mixer. Butter and sugar splattered everywhere, making you flinch and instantly turn the thing off. Was that really the slow setting? Experimentally, you turned the speed up as you held it over the sink. It didn't go any faster or slower. Well, you supposed that's what you got for six-dollars. You could always just use a spoon instead, but one of your goals was to keep up with the times and utilize available technology. You didn't want to feel your age.

Now that you were aware of its power, you put the machine back in the bowl and tried again. This time wasn't so bad and you had more control. That control tanked to zero when you added the flour. It was made worse by the fact that you tweaked the recipe with even more flour for extra fluffiness.

By the time you got the first batch in the oven, every surface in your tiny kitchen had a fine covering of white powder. Well, at least you had something to do while you waited.

When the timer went off, to your dismay the cookies were dark and crispy. You didn't know if it was a fault in the instructions or the oven, but for the next batch you set a shorter time and kept watch through the oven window.

Thanks to your careful monitoring, these ones turned out a perfect golden brown. They smelled so delicious that you absolutely had to try one.

As you took a bite of the warm, gooey confection, your tongue lit up with indescribable pleasure. Hands down, this had to be the best dessert in the history of the world! You doubted anything else in existence tasted better, but if there was such a thing, you would probably die from ecstasy overload.

It was too bad you were giving them away. You would just have to eat the crispy ones instead, which honestly you weren’t complaining about.

The rest of the dough was used up on the next batch, and after they had all baked and cooled you placed them in two large, plastic zip bags.

With nervous anticipation, you waited for Sans to get home from work. Once it turned 2:40, you figured he was probably back. You grabbed a bag of cookies and headed on over.

His door loomed before you and you started to second guess your decision. Was this what you really wanted? Was it a good idea? What were you even going to say? Thinking back to the hope you felt earlier, yes, you wanted this. As for what to say… you should just be honest. People responded to honesty.

Taking a deep breath, you knocked. A few seconds later, the pinprick of light in the peephole disappeared as someone moved behind it.

“whadda ya want?” was the gruff response.

“I came to apologize.” You had hoped he would open the door, but didn’t blame him for not wanting to see you. “I realized how stupid I was being, and… I _do_ want to be friends.”

Silence. Was he still there?

“These are for you.” You held up the bag so he could see it through the peephole, if he was even looking. “I’ll just leave them here. You don’t have to forgive me, just know that I’m truly sorry. I really do like monsters, and you’re a pretty cool guy, Sans.”

 _A pretty cool guy?_ You internally facepalmed yourself as you waited for a reply.

But none came.

Crestfallen, you set down the cookies and left back to your own apartment. Maybe he just needed some time. You couldn’t expect him to look past what you did that easily. 

Plopping down on the couch, you decided to distract yourself with planning Burgerpants’s visit. Would it be better to go during the day or at night? There was no telling if he would even be at MTT Burger, so either way was a gamble. If you went at night, the slayer would surely be lurking around, watching for you. Maybe if you wore a disguise you could get past them. The only problem was you didn’t have any disguises. If you went during the day, you would have to deal with the sun. You might be able to get away with wearing layers and carrying an umbrella, except that it was summertime and in the high nineties. It would attract attention, though honestly not the kind you needed to worry about. Not unless the slayer was on patrol during the day as well, which you doubted. Day it was, then.

You went to bed early, waking up around four to get ready. Taking a peak outside, you were pleasantly surprised to find that it was raining. Thank the entities that were watching over you! You dressed appropriately for the warm temperature and grabbed an umbrella.

On your walk to MTT Burger, you drank in the crisp smell of clean air. The patter of raindrops on your umbrella was a soothing companion, and it was refreshing to see the outside world illuminated in bright color. Despite being in a valley, rain wasn’t a common occurrence in Ebott, at least not at this time of year. It was too bad, because you enjoyed a good storm like this.

When you reached the restaurant, you paused. Hopefully Burgerpants would be a little more responsive than Sans, but you couldn’t blame him if he wasn’t. You had hurt him pretty badly. Taking a deep breath, you closed your umbrella and entered the door.

Looking around, the cat monster was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, you went up to one of the cashiers. She was purple with tentacle-like appendages sprouting from her head.

“Have you seen Burgerpants in here today?” you asked.

“Hmm?” She was brought out of her bored daze as she turned to you. “He usually doesn’t get here for, like, another hour.” She popped the gum she was chewing against her teeth.

“Okay, thanks. I’ll just wait then.”

You took a seat in his usual corner booth and played a game on your phone to pass the time.

Finally, he came through the door, leather jacket dripping with water. As he sauntered up to the booth, he spotted you, his whiskers twitching in confusion and annoyance. He immediately turned around and started to walk back out.

“Hey, wait!” you called, getting up to follow.

He didn’t stop, throwing his hood up over his head.

“I want to apologize,” you pleaded when you were both outside.

The cat stopped in his tracks and turned, staring warily at you as rain bounced off his jacket. “You what?”

“I’m sorry for what I said the other day,” you replied. “I was a jerk, and I feel really bad about it. If it’s not too much to ask, I want to be friends.”

His eyes widened momentarily in surprise before narrowing in disbelief. “How do I know this isn’t some big joke? Like ‘haha, let’s see how much more of a fool we can make Burgerpants look like?’”

You looked down sadly. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like a fool. I really am sorry.”

He studied your expression, crossing his arms. “I thought you couldn’t stand monsters.”

Sheepishly, you looked back up. “When you assumed I didn’t want to be friends because you’re a monster, I only agreed so you would stop pushing it… I feel terrible about that.”

“If you lied then, how do I know you’re not lying now?” He scowled.

“That’s fair,” you sighed. “There are things I really can’t tell anyone, and sometimes it just makes sense to cover them up, even if it ends up making things worse.”

“Like what?”

You frowned, uncomfortable. “I can’t talk about it.”

His tail twitched. “How am I supposed to trust you, then? You could be some weird serial killer for all I know.”

Flinching at the almost accurate jab, you shifted on your feet. He had a point, but could you really tell him? It wasn’t smart to go off spouting your true identity to just anyone, and you didn’t really know Burgerpants that well. Maybe you could… and if he took it badly or refused to keep your secret, you could always erase his memory. Wow, weren’t you a great person? Already planning to manipulate your future friends.

“If I tell you, can you promise to keep it secret?” You studied his reaction carefully.

Once again, he looked surprised that you were opening up to him. “Sure, buddy.” He looked sincere enough.

“Okay.” You took a deep, slow breath, stepping closer so you could speak softly. “Have you ever heard of vampires?”

His brow scrunched up confusedly. “Yeah?”

“Well… I… I am one,” you whispered.

“That’s it?” he asked, a little disappointed.

You were taken aback at this. “What do you mean, ‘that’s it?’ It’s a big deal.”

“Aren’t vampires a normal thing up here?”

“No.” Now you were confused. “Were they a normal thing in the Underground?”

“Well, no,” he chuckled. “But back when monsters were first trapped inside the mountain, there were lots of them. At least, it says so in our history books.”

“What, like they were trapped with you guys and just died out or something?”

“No.” He gave you an incredulous look. “They were the ones that helped trap us there. Don’t humans remember anything?”

This was definitely news to you. You just stood there staring, trying to process it all.

“…Alright, but I’m going have more questions later.” you finally said. “And _please,_ you can’t tell _anyone._ Not even other monsters. Vampires aren’t a normal thing anymore. Most people believe we’re just a myth, and others hate us enough to hunt us down. In fact,” you quickly looked around, “I’m trying to be extra careful right now because someone here in the city is trying to kill me.”

Burgerpants’s face grew serious. “Wow, ok. Now I guess I understand why you had to lie.” He put his paws in his jeans pockets. “Honestly, some monsters would probably try to kill you if they knew, too.”

“What?” And you thought you were out of the woods.

“Yeah,” he laughed nervously. “One of the things everyone was worried about when we came to the surface was that humans would send their vampires to war with us again. I think our king even had a plan to get rid of you guys. It’s been long enough now that most of us aren’t scared anymore, but… I still hear a few conversations about it here and there.”

“Well, that’s… expected, I guess.” It was definitely a shock, but you supposed it wasn’t that different than what you had already been dealing with.

“Don’t worry, buddy. Your secret’s safe with me.” He smiled.

His genuine expression and the kindness in his voice filled you with warmth.

“Thank you,” you smiled back. “So then, uh, do you still want to be friends with me?”

“I wouldn’t mind,” he shrugged, amusedly. “I guess it’d be pretty cool to have a powerful vampire as an ally.”

You laughed, then remembered the bag you’d been holding onto this whole time. “Oh! Almost forgot!” You held it out to him. “These are for you. As an apology gift.”

His eyes widened as he took the bag from you. “Woah, um, thanks.” Opening it, he stuck his nose in for a sniff. You could almost see the drool pooling as he grabbed a cookie and popped it whole into his mouth. “Dish er frikn’ delififsh!” He tried to say.

“I’m glad you like them,” you giggled.

When he swallowed enough to speak clearly, he said, “We should exchange numbers.”

“Good idea. I don’t know how to get ahold of you except by coming here.”

And so you did, and this time you made sure to check the entered contact info.

“Your real name’s Chester?” you asked.

“Yeah, that’s what my friends call me.” He shrugged.

“Okay, well thanks, Chester,” you grinned. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

“You don’t want to stick around and play a few games?”

“No, I need to get home before the sun goes down.”

He raised a furry brow. “I thought vampires came out at sundown.”

“Usually yes, but the person trying to kill me does, too.”

“Ah, well I’ll let you go then. See ya.”

“Yep!”

You walked away, brimming with happiness. This had gone better than you expected. Not only did you gain your first friend in a long time, but he completely accepted you and understood. You could be yourself and not worry about lying and covering things up. It was more than you could’ve asked for.

Though, it was kind of a bummer to find out that, contrary to what you’d thought, monsters did have a reason to fear vampires. At least not all of them would dislike you, though. It made you wonder how Sans would react.

You didn’t want to worry about that right now, however. You wanted to enjoy the warm, fuzzy feeling in your chest as you nearly skipped home, rain thrumming gently against your umbrella.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a couple things on my tumblr now, for those of you that are interested. Yay! I answer questions and do headcannons, so if you want, drop something in my ask box!
> 
>  
> 
> <https://kariganfirestone.tumblr.com/>


	8. Talk it Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Sans have a small chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm so sorry this update is late. Work is really taking its toll on me :/ 
> 
> Also, two chapters ago I was so excited about passing the 1000 hits/100 kudos mark, and now it's already past 2000 and 200! Wow!!! You are all amazing and I love you for reading this! Seriously, thank you!

Sans's cellphone buzzed next to him on the nightstand. It was 5am, and he hadn't gotten much sleep. Nightmares again.

He sighed and sluggishly grabbed the device, answering with an unenthusiastic “yo.”

“SANS, YOU ACTUALLY MANAGED TO PICK UP WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME.”

He jumped and held the phone away from his head as his brother's voice blared through the speaker. He should know to expect the volume by now, but it still got him sometimes.

“don't get used to it," he grumbled back.

“SO. UPDATE ME ON THE HUMAN.”

Crap! Uh… “o-oh, doomfanger's fine, boss,” he said, trying to unskillfully deflect the conversation. “ya don’t gotta worry, I’m takin’ good care’a her.” He didn't want Papyrus knowing what had happened with you yet. He was still trying to sort it out himself, and his brother would definitely overreact at the news.

“NO, YOU MORON! I WASN'T ASKING ABOUT THE CAT, I WAS ASKING ABOUT THE HUMAN, Y/N!”

“sorry,” Sans chuckled nervously. “guess i’m still half asleep.”

Papyrus grunted. “WELL WAKE UP AND ANSWER MY QUESTION CORRECTLY!”

“she's fine too, i guess.”

“HAVE YOU DONE ANY ACTIVITIES TO TEST HER FRIENDSHIP?”

“uh, no... i kinda forgot,” he lied.

Papyrus’s sigh came through sounding like a strong gust of wind. “SANS.”

Sans could just picture him dragging a hand down his face.

“boss~.”

“NYAAAH! DON'T SASS ME! IF YOU DON'T TEST HER YOURSELF, I WILL BE FORCED TO DO IT FOR YOU!”

“n-no, i’ll do it, just give me a couple more days.” Maybe by then he’d have this all sorted out with you.

“YOU HAVE _ONE_ DAY. YOU'VE ALREADY PROCRASTINATED LONG ENOUGH.”

“only one?” He started to sweat. “what if she's busy?”

“FIGURE IT OUT!”

And with that, Papyrus hung up.

Groaning, Sans tossed the phone back onto the nightstand, rolling over to bury his face in his pillow. He wanted more time to process how he felt about you. He’d considered what Grillby had said about you not actually hating monsters, which was confirmed by the fact that you came over to apologize earlier. And you’d brought cookies. _Dear Asgore_ , were they good! He’d been a little wary at first that they were poisoned, but he hadn’t smelled anything harmful in them. He was ashamed he’d even considered it. A small part of him couldn’t help but feel he was being a jerk about this whole thing.

Maybe it wasn’t totally unwarranted though. Everything had been fine until he’d asked if you were friends, and then you’d completely shut down. It was like you’d flipped a switch. He couldn’t quite believe the reason you gave, either. If you weren’t comfortable about his feelings for you, why hadn’t you said anything sooner? And who were you to know what he felt? Sure, he flirted with you, but it didn’t mean he actually liked you in that way.

Well, maybe a little. He wasn’t really sure. He hadn’t gotten to know you that well. But he wanted to.

You were so confusing, though! One minute you say you don’t want to be friends, the next you’re at his door saying the opposite, like it was nothing. Was that kind of unpredictability normal for humans, or was it just you? You could be crazy for all he knew.

He’d been planning to talk to you about it, but he wanted more time. With Papyrus on his tail though, he didn’t have that luxury. Well, seeing as he couldn’t sleep right now... He fumbled around for his phone again and opened up the texting app.

__________

 

You’d been climbing in bed when you heard Sans’s phone buzz through the wall. It’s not like you were trying to listen in on the conversation, but the walls were so thin it was hard not to. It would be lying if you said you weren’t curious though. It had been a whole day since you’d brought over those cookies, and he hadn’t said anything yet. They’d been removed from his doorstep when you got home earlier, which was a good sign. Though, he might’ve just thrown them away.

Sans’s voice could be heard pretty clearly, and surprisingly, you could almost make out everything Papyrus said as well. On second thought, it really didn’t surprise you that much. You nearly laughed at one point as you listened. Their brotherly dynamic was interesting.

What was that about “testing your friendship?” Had Sans told Papyrus about what happened? It sounded like maybe he hadn’t. Now you were curious what he was going to do.

As you lay there waiting for sleep to take you, your phone’s message alert went off.

 

**_Sans:_ ** _are u busy right now?_

**_you:_ ** _No, what's up?_

 

You'd been about ready to go to sleep, but whatever he wanted was decidedly more important at the moment.

 

**_Sans:_ ** _can u come over? we need to talk_

**_you:_ ** _Sure, be there in a minute._

 

Welp, here it goes. You were off to talk to Sans.

…Yep.

You stopped at your door. You had no idea what you were going to say. What was he going to say? He would probably want an explanation for your weird behavior. Were you going to tell him the truth? It had gone over really well with Burgerpa—uh, Chester (it was going to be so weird to call him that). But he’d mentioned that some monsters still fear vampires.

Was Sans one of those monsters? You didn’t really want to take that chance. He was important. Not that Chester wasn’t important, too, it’s just that… Well, you didn’t know exactly. All you did know was that you had the chance to be friends with Sans now, and the thought of messing that up was too much.

He was going to eventually find out anyway, but maybe by then you’ll have convinced him that you’re harmless. For now, you would just have to stick with your previous excuse. It wasn’t a complete lie, at least. While you were okay with making friends, you were definitely not ready for anything beyond that. At the moment, you just wanted to see how things went.  

Taking a deep breath, you left the dark shelter of your apartment. Walking through the sunlight to Sans’s, you knocked on the door in nervous anticipation.

“’s open,” you heard Sans call from inside.

Tentatively, you turned the knob and pushed.

Poking your head inside, you saw him lounged out on his couch, scrolling lazily through his phone.

His eyelights flicked up to you momentarily. “you can come in and sit down. ya don’t gotta stand there,” he said.

Self-consciously you stepped inside, shutting the door, and went to sit on the opposite end of the couch.

Fidgeting nervously, you decided to speak first. “Look, before you say anything, I just wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean to make you think I disliked you, especially not because you’re a monster.” You looked up, and Sans was staring off into the corner. “I really am sorry. It’s a terrible feeling to be hated for who you are.”

The tone of your voice in that last part made him turn, scanning your expression with mild curiosity. You looked away.

“i shouldn’ta assumed that," he finally replied with a small shrug. “didn’t make much sense anyways.”

“I should’ve at least denied it though.”

“so why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want to push the matter anymore. I thought maybe if you were mad at me you would let it go.” You grimaced. “I just didn't realize how much worse it would hurt you. I was being really selfish.”

Sans thought for a moment. “why’d you suddenly change your mind then? you seemed pretty upset about it.”

A sad laugh escaped you. “I refuse to be friends for a stupid reason, get all emotional, and then change my mind overnight. You probably think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

“it is a little confusin’,” he grunted.

You took in a deep breath and slowly released, giving yourself a moment to collect your thoughts. “I haven’t exactly had the greatest luck with romance in the past. I’ve had some pretty bad experiences, actually. It’s kinda made me… cautious, to say the least.”

Sans’s expression was unreadable as he waited for you to continue.

“That’s why I pushed you away at first. It was my gut response. But after I took a step back, I realized how much I was overreacting.”

He shrugged. “guess i can see where you’re comin’ from. i used t’have trust issues, too.”

“Oh?”

“still do, if i’m bein’ honest.” He breathed out a dry chuckle. “jus’ not as bad as before.”

“What changed?”

“mmm, i guess it was frisk.”

“Your human ambassador?”

“yep, the same,” Sans grinned. “they showed me that humans ain’t so bad. not that we’ve been treated great so far here on the surface, but frisk showed me there’s hope.”

You frowned. “You must’ve been pretty disappointed by me then.”

“eh. you’re here now, so whatsit matter? it only proves they were right.”

“That’s true.” You were relieved you hadn’t taken that hope away from him.

After a small moment of silence, Sans scratched the back of his skull. “so, uh… ya thought that i had, um, feelings for ya?”

Your face instantly started to burn. “Well you flirted with me, didn’t you?” And asked you on a date. Why was he asking that?

“maybe a little, b-but i… t-that’s jus’ what i do.” His face was a nice shade of red as well, and he wouldn’t meet your eyes. “if ya don’t like it, i can stop.”

“I, uh…” Say yes! It makes you uncomfortable and he needs to stop! “I mean, if it’s just who you are, I don’t want you to feel like you can’t be yourself. Around me. Because we’re friends. And friends act like themselves. Around their friends. Or, they should. So you should. Be yourself.”

…Um, what?!

Sans had grown a smirk in the midst of your rambling, no longer the one embarrassed. “if you’re sure, doll.”

“It’s fine,” you sighed, turning away to try and hide your deepened blush. “But in case it wasn’t clear, I’m not looking for a relationship anytime soon.”

“i can respect that,” he replied smugly.

“If that’s all, I should get going. I haven’t slept yet.” You just wanted to leave and hide from all this awkwardness.

“i’m pretty tired, too,” he admitted. “oh, thanks for the cookies, by the way.”

You shrugged. “It was the least I could do. Hopefully they tasted ok.”

“yeah, they weren’t too _crummy_.”

“Sans.” You gave him a pointed look.

“what?” he smiled innocently.

“That was bad.”

“heh, no _sheet_ , it was _half baked_.”

“Wow.” The corners of your mouth were struggling to pull up, but you refused to let them. “I earned this torture, didn’t I?”

“yeah ya did,” he said. “but i’ll let’cha off easy. i’ve _pun_ ished you enough for now.”

“I don’t think we can be friends anymore.” You got up and walked to the door.

“aw, don’t be like that,” he chuckled.

“I’ll see you later, Sans.” You were no longer able to hold back your grin.

“see ya, doll.”

As soon as you were gone, Sans wished you hadn't left. That talk had gone much better than he'd expected. You'd been surprisingly open and honest, and he'd gotten a glimpse of the girl hiding underneath that guarded exterior. He found himself wanting to see more.

Guess you weren't actually crazy, you'd just had a difficult past. He could relate. His life in the Underground hadn't exactly been all sunshine and daisies. Though he'd adjusted fairly well, the first year on the surface had been rough. He'd learned and changed quite a bit over the next two, but there were still times when he acted like he'd never left that mountain.

Now he was thinking about the quickest way to see you again. Something besides short-cutting into your apartment unannounced... You probably wouldn't appreciate that invasion of privacy.

Oh wait, duh! He had tonight off for the city celebration thing they do every year. Grillby was planning on selling drinks during the event, so the bar would be closed.

He whipped out his phone to text you.

 

**_sans:_ ** _u busy tomorrow night?_

**_doll:_ ** _No, why?_

**_sans:_ ** _theres that city anniversary party or whatever. wanna go?_

****

It had been several minutes since he sent that last text. He was worried you were going to turn him down, but you finally replied.

 

**_doll:_ ** _Sure, sounds like fun_

**_sans:_ ** _pick u up at 7?_

**_doll:_ ** _Just to clarify, this isn’t a date, is it?_

****

He chuckled at that. How cute.

 

**_sans:_** _only if u want it to be_ ;)

**_doll:_** _Very funny._ :p _7 is fine_

Oh, it was definitely a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so this was a pretty short chapter, but next one will definitely be longer.
> 
> And exciting!! Reader has a date~ But don't tell her that...
> 
> Here's my tumblr: <https://kariganfirestone.tumblr.com/>  
> Thanks to those of you that have started following me and that have even sent in asks!! It's so much fun to interact with you! Please feel free to send in more!


	9. Not a Date, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ebott City's anniversary celebration turns out to be skele-tons of fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually updated!! Yay! So sorry it took so long.

It was late Saturday afternoon, and you were humming softly to yourself in the shower. Soon it would be time to go with Sans to the Ebott City Anniversary celebration. You were actually excited. There would be a street fair and live music, and they were going to fire up the old steam train to give rides through downtown. You couldn't remember the last time you had gone to something fun like that.

When Sans had asked you, you'd hesitated at first. Tonight would be the third night since you last fed, meaning your thirst would be back thanks to whatever was escalating your bloodlust. It would be near overwhelming to be surrounded by so many sweaty humans, all of them bumping against you and being so close. You could do it though. Five hundred years of experience didn't count for nothing.

You were also a little worried about the slayer. Would they be there? If so, would they recognize you? They’d had enough of a view to follow you last time, but they could've just been going off your outfit. Hopefully they hadn't gotten a good look at your face. In any case, there would be too many people around for them to make a move. You would most likely be safe.

Still, after showering you made sure to choose an outfit with a different style and color scheme, and you pulled your hair back into a French braid rather than leaving it loose and free like usual.

You gave yourself a small smile in the mirror. It was still a bit of a surprise that Sans had forgiven you so easily. He'd been more understanding than you'd expected, especially after how mad he’d been at first, but you were so glad it turned out the way it did. Who would've thought in less than twenty-four hours you'd go from having zero to two friends? It filled you with happiness.

So why was there still a strange coldness in your chest? It was even more than that, like there was a darkness lurking in the corners of your mind. No, your very being. You weren't sure what it was, but it was putting a damper on your positive spirit, threatening to overtake it altogether if given enough attention. Trying your best not to dwell on it, you focused instead on waiting for Sans to arrive.

You checked the time on your phone about twice a minute, drumming your fingers impatiently against the arm of the couch.

Half an hour until seven.

Twenty-five minutes. Didn't you have anything better to do than sit around?

Ten minutes. (Guess not.)

Five.

One.

Negative one.

Come on, Sans!

*Finger drumming intensifies

Negative three...

_Four..._

_Knock knock knock!_

Leaping up, you answered the door with a scowl.

“hey, doll. ready for...” Sans trailed off as he took in your irritated demeanor, his confident smirk fading. “uh, what’s up?”

“You’re late,” you said, pushing past him and shutting the door.

He pulled out his phone for a brief glance, frowning in response. “four minutes ain’t that late, sweetheart.”

“It—” you started to argue, but then realized he was right. “Oh. Sorry, I... thought it was later.” You rubbed the back of your neck. Why had you been so upset over that?

Sans shrugged, his smile returning. “heh, sounds like you were confused there for a _minute._ ”

You rolled your eyes. “Let’s go.”

“yeah, jus’ gimme a _second_ and we'll be outta here.”

“Sans.”

“there’s always _time_ for humor.” He winked.

A smile was trying to force its way onto your lips, so you walked past him down the stairs to hide it.

He followed behind, chuckling. “ya wanna walk the whole way or d'ya wanna take a shortcut?”

You paused with a huff and mumbled, “Shortcut.”

He didn't need any more of an invitation to wrap an arm around you and draw closer. You allowed it without resistance, and together you blinked away.

Your vision swam as you tried to get a handle on your new surroundings. You were standing behind an alleyway dumpster, the sound of a busy crowd and distant music echoing along the brick walls.

Sans smirked as you rubbed your eyes. “need a _moment_?”

Pushing away, you replied, “One without your puns? Yes.”

“alright, i’ll ease up. but ya know, you’re cute when ya get all pouty.”

Shooting him a glare, you exited the alley.

The streets of downtown were lined with white-tented booths, swarming with humans and the occasional monster. Some of the booths were selling food and drink, others proudly displayed various handmade wares and local products. Colorful ribbons and lights were strung between the lampposts above. The sun hadn’t quite set yet, but you were sure the street would be a vision once it grew dark enough.

“so whaddaya wanna do first?” Sans asked from over your shoulder.

“Hmm…” Well first of all, there was a tantalizing aroma wafting from the warm bodies of the crowd that made you unsure of how long you could last without grabbing someone and sinking your teeth into their throat. You had to figure out how to slip away from Sans unnoticed and fulfil your growing need. “Actually, can we find a restroom?”

The skeleton clicked his teeth together. “why didn’cha go before we left?”

“Sorry, I... forgot,” you answered lamely.

He shook his head disbelievingly. “you’d think growin’ up havin’ to ‘go’ your whole life would make ya smart about it.”

“Hey! It’s not like you’ve never forgotten to ‘go,’” you defended.

“i’m a freakin’ skeleton. i’ve never had to.”

That made you freeze. “What?”

“ya heard me,” he smirked. “i may look like similar to ya, but i ain’t got the same disgustin’ habits as you humans.”

“How does that even work?” You were scanning him up and down, as if that might help you figure it out.

He made jazz hands. “magic.”

“Figures.” You rolled your eyes. “Anyway, if humans are so disgusting, why do you hang around me?”

“wha- i didn’- i never said you were disgustin’, i jus’ said some of your habits were.”

You almost smiled in satisfaction at his flustered reaction, but managed to hold it together, still feigning offense. “Mmhmm. Just keep digging yourself into a deeper hole.” If you still had any normal human habits, you might actually be offended.

“you know what i meant!” His arms were crossed, teeth shaped into a grimace.

Maybe you should quit while you’re ahead. You allowed your expression to relax into something friendlier. “I’m just teasing.”

“pssh, whatever,” he muttered.

“Wait here for me. I’m sure there’s a place close by where I can go be ‘disgusting.’”

“yeah, yeah. jus’ don’t take too long.”

Traversing the crowd, you scanned the nearby alleys, looking for anything that was deep, dark, and deserted enough. You spotted one fairly quickly.

Standing at the entrance, you pretended to check your phone as you watched several people pass by. Finally, you saw a young man that looked to be by himself.

“Excuse me,” you called. “Could you help me for a second?”

He stopped, turning confusedly to you for a moment before walking closer. “What do you need help with?”

“I dropped my wallet and it slid under the garbage bin down here. I can’t reach it, but you’ve got longer arms than me. Could you maybe…”

“Yeah, sure,” he shrugged. “Just show me where.”

“Oh, thank you!” You led him around the corner and to the side of a large dumpster. You didn’t say anything, waiting for him to look you in the eye.

“Down there?” he asked, pointing.

“Um…”

“What? Not there?” At last, he looked up.

You focused, willing him to stand still and be quiet. You could feel the heat emanating from your eyes as red filtered over your vision, and the young man did exactly as you wanted.

You drew closer, tilting his head aside and sinking your teeth into his soft neck. Thick, warm blood filled your mouth, running down your throat and soothing your burning thirst.

Blood wasn’t the tastiest thing ever. When you first became a vampire you absolutely hated it, nearly vomiting every time you fed because it made you gag so terribly. Out of necessity and time it became an acquired taste.

Despite the lack of pleasant flavor, it was in every other way very satisfying. As you drank, you could feel yourself being filled with vitality and power. Your limbs were filled with a renewed strength and your mind became clearer and relaxed.

It was a drug you were fully dependent on, one that you stole from others and couldn’t provide for yourself.

It was a curse.

As you finished drinking, you pulled away, swiping your tongue around the wound you’d left. This was not only to clean off excess blood, but your saliva had healing properties. Already, the bite was closing up quite nicely.

You stared once again into the eyes of your prey, willing him to forget ever meeting you and to be on his way. There used to be a time when you felt guilt and remorse at this point in the process, but you just didn’t anymore. You weren’t sure if it had just become routine, or… something worse. Maybe the last of your humanity really was gone.  

While you waited for the young man to leave, you checked your face with your phone’s camera. Good, no stains. Pulling a water bottle out of your purse, you swished out your mouth. Maybe now the smell wouldn’t be so strong when you went back to Sans. You could only hope.

You stepped out of the alley, searching the crowd for your friend. He wasn’t hard to find, his bright white dome of a skull sticking out. He hadn’t waited around for you it seemed, having found Grillby’s booth instead. Not surprising.

The flamesman was the first to notice your approach. “Y/n. What a pleasure it is to see you this evening.”

“Hey, Grillby,” you smiled.

“you’re back jus’ in time,” Sans grinned deviously. “i was about to tell another joke.”

“Maybe you can get him to stop,” Grillby grumbled.

“Sans—”

“hold on, hold on! this is a good one,” he said, dark excitement twinkling in his eyesockets. “i jus’ heard it the other day.”

You sighed in reluctant consent. How bad could it be?

“how do you get a cat to go ‘woof?’ you— _snrk!_ —you soak it in gasoline and— _haha!_ —and light it— _oh stars_ —light it on fire!” He burst into laughter, doubled over and leaning against the counter.

You looked over to share an annoyed glance with Grillby, only to find him trying to cover up a grin with his fist.

You were unamused. “It’s really not that funny. Pretty sick, actually.”

“nah, you jus’— _haha!_ —ya need t’redefine— _hehe!_ —your definition of ‘funny!’”

Grillby shrugged in unapologetic agreement.

“Unbelievable,” you muttered as Sans continued to laugh it out. “Well, I’m going to go enjoy the fair while you continue dying over there.”

As you began walking away, he called out to you. “wait, i’m comin’!” He caught up and wiped a mirthful tear away from his socket. “c’mon, doll. when are ya gonna stop pretendin’ my jokes ain’t funny?”

You glanced sideways at him. “They’re _not_ funny.”

He smirked. “your mouth says that, but your eyes tell a different story.”

“What? They don’t!”

“jus’ keep tellin’ yourself that. i’ll get ya to crack sooner or later.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“challenge accepted.” He exuded an annoying amount of confidence.  

Uh oh. What had you done? “Can we please just enjoy the fair?”

“sure. whaddaya wanna do?”

You looked around for a moment. “Let’s check out the games they have over there.”

“sounds good t’me.”

They had all the typical games you’d expect to find at a fair, with rings, bottles, balloons, and the like. All of them were no doubt rigged, but you weren’t born yesterday. It also helped that you had some…advantages.

“How about that one?” you asked, pointing towards a booth with balloons along the back wall.

“no problem, doll.” Sans rolled up his jacket sleeves. “which prize didja want?”

“Uh, I think you misunderstood.” You pulled a five out of your pocket and slapped it down on the counter. “This is a competition. Two games, please.”

He stared dumbly as the worker accepted your money and laid down two sets of darts.

“Get ready to lose,” you taunted, collecting your three darts.

This seemed to snap him out of his stupor. “oh, it’s on, sweetheart.”

Gesturing to him with a patronizing smile, you said, “Monsters first.”

He rolled his shoulders, taking a concentrated aim before letting a dart fly. It bounced lamely off a blue balloon and onto the floor.

“what?!” he cried. “i hit it though!”

“Not hard enough, apparently.”

He exhaled in annoyance. “jus’ watch. i’ll get it this time.”

You had to hold back a grin as his second dart harmlessly skimmed the side of a balloon and bounced off the back wall.

He cursed under his breath and threw the last one, this time successfully popping a yellow balloon.

Clicking his teeth together, he said, “this game’s gotta be rigged or somethin’.”

“Or you just suck,” you teased.

He snorted. “i’d like to see you do better.”

You raised a dart of your own, taking aim. The thing to know about this game was that the balloons were always underinflated, and the darts were always dull. It just meant that you had to put a little (read: a lot) more force into the throw. Not a problem for someone such as yourself. You let it fly, and the balloon popped as easily as if it were a soap bubble.

“ya jus’ got lucky,” Sans grumbled.

You threw another dart, yielding the same result.

“How’s that for luck?”

“i get what’s goin’ on here,” he said to the worker. “ya give the sharp ones to all the pretty girls.”

“Sans.” Now you were annoyed. “Look at this dart. It’s almost as dull as you.” You held up your last one, displaying its flat, broken tip. Then you hurled it straight through a pink balloon and right into the wall behind.

Both Sans and the worker stared wide-eyed at the dart protruding from the wood.

Sans whistled. “stars, doll. i didn’ know you had it in ya.”

“Which prize do you want, Sans?” you asked innocently.

His look of awe turned sour. “i’ll win my own when i beat ya at the next game.”

“Suit yourself,” you shrugged, proceeded to pick out a gigantic, fluffy tiger.

The next game you played was basketball free throw, which was rigged with small, oddly-shaped hoops. Surprisingly, Sans turned out to be an extremely accurate shot. Neither of you missed a single basket. You ended up winning a big plushy dolphin, and Sans chose a fluffy black cat. He said it was for his brother.

“Do you feel like you’ve redeemed yourself?” you asked around your stuffed animals.

“i don’t gotta prove anything to you,” he scoffed. “’specially not with these games. they ain’t _fair_.”

You ignored the pun, shifting your animals for a better grip. “Is there any way you can send these home? They’re kinda huge.”

“yeah, sure.” He touched them briefly and they disappeared, leaving your arms full of thin air.

“Thanks.”

“don’t mention—” His eyes became focused intently on something in the distance.

“What?” You tried to see what he was staring at.

“no way,” he chuckled. “we gotta check this out.”

“ _What?_ ” you repeated, confused as he took your arm and led you through the crowd.

You came to a stop in front of a dunk tank, upon which was seated a blue fish lady, her red hair tied up in a ponytail and one eye sporting a black patch. She was cackling loudly as a teenage boy failed to dunk her, her razor-sharp teeth pulled into one of the widest grins you’d ever seen.

“Nice try, punk!” she yelled. “Come back when you grow some actual muscles!”

“Do you know her or something?” you asked Sans.

“undyne? oh yeah. she and my bro are friends,” he replied. “she also used to be captain of the royal guard.”

“Used to?”

“yeah, before my bro replaced her.”

“Sans!” Undyne shouted, pointing a webbed hand his way. “Get over here, you nerd! I’ll bet you couldn’t dunk me if you pushed the target with your bare hands!”

“I can see why her and Papyrus are friends,” you whispered as you and Sans walked closer.

It was then that she seemed to notice you. “Who’s the human?” Her scaly brow furrowed as she scanned you up and down.

“this is my friend, y/n,” Sans answered, pulling you into a side hug. The sudden action made you stumble further into his bony side, and you had to cling to his jacket to keep from falling. You irritatedly straightened yourself and pulled away.

“Oh, are you two on a date?” Undyne’s grin turned devious.

“No—!”

“yes—”  

You turned to Sans with an incredulous look. “No, we’re not!”

The infuriating skeleton had the audacity to wink. “jus’ messin’ with you, doll.”

“Well whatever. Get over here already and prove how much of a wimp you are!” Undyne taunted.

“you’re just askin’ for me to shut your big mouth,” Sans retaliated playfully. He walked up to the yellow drake with glasses who was manning the table and bought a couple balls. “alphys,” he said, “watch me dunk your girlfriend into oblivion.”

Alphys broke into snorting, almost hysterical laughter. “Y-you can sure try!”

“What was that Sans?” Undyne asked. “You’re gonna lose in front of your girlfriend?”

“I’m not his girlfriend!” you said indignantly.

“Sure,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And no magic! Got that, Sans?”

“yeah, yeah,” he grumbled.

He stood at the throwing line, winding his arm up and chucking the ball with a grunt. It hit the target dead on, but it didn’t budge.

“Haha! Maybe you should find someone else to date, girlie!” the fish lady laughed.

“Sans, let me try,” you said, nudging his arm.

“what, and give up?” he asked. “no way.”

“Fine,” you sighed. Turning, you went to Alphys. “I just want one, please,” you said as you handed over some cash.

“Good luck,” the drake snorted.

You got back to Sans just as he failed to dunk Undyne with his last ball.

“I told you, loser!” Undyne chortled. “You suck!”

Sans was fuming. “and you’re a dirty cheater!”

“Excuse me, but it’s my turn,” you said, moving him out of the way.

“sweetheart, if i couldn’t dunk her, you sure as—”

The splintering of the wooden target cut him off, and you stared in disbelief as Undyne sat completely dry up on her set.

“Wow, that girl has one heck of an arm,” she gaped.

“i knew it!” Sans cried. “you were cheatin’!”

Alphys cleared her throat. “Um, actually, I r-rigged it so that, uh, if it gets h-hit above a certain force it locks up. See?” She demonstrated, walking over to gently push a clawed hand against what was left of the target.

Undyne was unceremoniously dumped into the water with a splash and resurfaced a moment later. “You should see the looks on people’s faces when their four-year-old can dunk me but they can’t!”

“this is un-freakin’-believable.” Sans dragged a hand over his face. “i just paid five bucks to make myself look stupid.”

“So y/n, do you work out or something?” Undyne asked.

“A bit.” Oops. You may have showed off a little _too_ much.

She eyed you closely. “Have I seen you around somewhere? You kinda look familiar.”

You shook your head. “I think I would’ve remembered seeing someone as blue and loud as you.”

“Heheh, you’ve got that right!”

“But I have been to a few monster establishments in the area. You might’ve seen me at one.”      

“That’s probably it.”

“i’m starvin’,” Sans broke in. “ya wanna grab a ‘dog or somethin’?”

“Yeah, sure,” you said, before remembering you probably couldn’t eat it.

“catch ya later, fish face.”

“Whatever bone boy.”

“It was nice to meet you both.” You waved. “Hopefully we’ll see each other again.”

“Definitely,” Undyne replied, still staring like she was trying to place who you were. Well, many humans did look pretty similar. She was probably thinking of someone else.

You followed Sans over to the side of the street selling food. Looking around, most of the vendors were humans. Besides Grillby, there was one monster in particular you recognized.

“Hey,” you started, “would you say it’s safe to assume that any food sold by monsters is made of magic?”

“uh, yeah, i guess,” he shrugged. “why? somethin’ you want?”

“Yeah, over here.” You led the way to a small umbrella cart with a sign that read “Ice Scream” in deep red letters. A depressed blue rabbit man was hunched over himself on a stool behind it. “Hey Ned.”

“Oh, hey y/n,” he responded unenthusiastically. When his eyes wandered over to Sans they widened in fear and he instantly sat up straighter. “What can I get for you?” His voice shook lightly.

You glanced over at your friend, but he didn’t appear to be making any threatening gestures.

“ya only sell one thing, don’tcha?” Sans raised a browbone.

“Well, yes…”

“Do you two know each other?” you asked curiously.

“not personally, no. we’ll take two ice screams.” He was tapping his foot impatiently.

“T-that’ll be three dollars,” said Ned, reaching into the cart.

He handed you two black plastic packages as Sans pulled some bills out of his wallet, tossing them on the counter.

“Thanks,” you smiled.

“Mmhmm,” came the nervous reply.

As you walked down the street you unwrapped the packaging to reveal a frozen, blood-red rectangle.

“What flavor is this?”

“dunno, but it tastes good.”

“Where’s the stick?”

“what stick?” Sans looked at you like you’d grown horns.

“Don’t popsicles have sticks in them so you can hold them up?”

“if you wait any longer to eat it, it’ll definitely get _sticky_.”

You stuck your tongue out at him and proceeded to take a bite. You’d never had ice cream before, and you weren’t disappointed. The shock of cold enhanced the sweet, creamy taste, all coming together to make your taste buds sing. You didn’t think it was possible, but you’d found the rival of chocolate chip cookies.

“Wow! This is amazing!”

Sans chuckled. “doesn’t it make you want to _scream_ for more?”

Ignore. “Oh hey, there’s writing inside this.” You peeled back the black wrapper to better read the words. “It says, ‘Isn’t this Fruit Punch to die for?’”

“huh. is that supposed t’be a joke?”

You shrugged, trying to shove more of the treat into your mouth.

“mine says, ‘Wow, this Fruit really packs a Punch.’ heh, nice one.”

“Don’t you mean _ice_ one?”

You paused mid-bite.

So did Sans.

“what was that?” he smirked.

Cheeks lighting up in embarrassment, you denied having said anything.

“nah, i heard ya loud n’ clear. you made a pun.”

“No I didn’t.”

“yes you did.”

“No!”

“admit it! you like puns!”

“Never!”

“ha! you said ‘never,’ implyin’ that ya do!”

“Shut up.” You turned away, trying to bury your face in your wrapper.

“aw, doll,” he crooned, pulling you close. “you’re just too fun t’mess with.”

With a wry smile, you pushed away. Time to turn the conversation off you.

“So why did Ned seem so afraid of you back there?”

“i toldja, i don’t know ‘im.” He focused on his ice scream.

“He sure seemed to know you.”

“must’a thought i was someone else.”

You stared at him a moment. Clearly he didn’t want to talk about it, so you let it go. You had your fair share of secrets, after all.

“Ok. Well, what do you want to do now?”

He glanced at you, surprised you had dropped the subject so easily.

“to be honest, uh, this ice scream isn’t very filling. let’s get somethin’ else, too.”

“Sounds good,” you grinned.

On your way back to the food, you almost couldn’t believe the sight in front of you. There, holding the hand of an excited preteen in the line for cotton candy, was the Great and Terrible Papyrus himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued! It definitely won't take me two months to update this time!
> 
> Feel free to check out my tumblr: <https://kariganfirestone.tumblr.com/>  
> Also, here is a [small Burgerpants drabble](https://kariganfirestone.tumblr.com/post/162558305937/gahhh-i-love-your-story-so-much-i-already-made) prompted by an ask if anyone's interested. I love to answer asks like that and more, so hit me up!


	10. Not a Date Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of fun times at the annual Ebott City fair! We also learn some interesting things about monster and vampire lore~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sooo sorry this took so long! I know I said it wouldn't take more than a week, but holy crap is school killing me. From week one I've just been absolutely slammed with homework, and mix that in with worsening depression and insomnia xD. I've slowly been working on this chapter, bits and pieces at a time. It's not quite how I planned for it to turn out, but hopefully it's okay. Enjoy!!

Several confused thoughts ran through your head as you stared.

Papyrus in line for _cotton candy_ , and holding the hand of a _preteen_ … Not exactly how you pictured him spending his weekends. Who was this kid, anyway?

You had to get a closer look, and began pulling a surprised Sans with you.

“geez, and i thought _i_ was hungry,” he mumbled. Once he saw who you were headed towards, he let out an “oh.”

The kid had short, messy brown hair and narrow eyes. Their t-shirt was striped red and black, their dark skinny jeans stylishly ripped, fitting right in with the skeleton brothers’ attire. You couldn’t quite tell what gender they were, but they were adorable nonetheless. As you drew closer, you noticed they were cradling a flowerpot to their side which housed a large, golden flower, a few of its petals torn. Probably a carnival game prize.

The kid was the first to notice your approach, dropping Papyrus’s hand and full-on sprinting at Sans.

“hey, frisk—oof!” he said as they attack-hugged him.

_Frisk?_ Your eyes widened. This wasn’t the monsters’ human ambassador, was it?

“Sans! How come you haven’t visited us lately?” Frisk looked up from the skeleton’s jacket with a pout.

“eh, you know me, kid,” he shrugged. “it’s jus’ work ‘n sleep.”

“And eat,” they giggled.

“Hey! Would you let me out of here?!” shouted a new, muffled voice. “I’m _so_ done being in this idiot sandwich!”

Frisk took a step back. “Oh, sorry Flowey.” They looked with concern at the pot they were still holding.

The golden flower shook itself out, then indignantly crossed two leaves. You noticed that it had a face, which currently didn’t look very pleased.

A flower monster? You hadn’t seen one of those yet. Oddly enough, it wasn’t like the other anthropomorphic animal monsters you were used to seeing, human sized and able to walk.

“What’re you staring at?” it growled.

“Sorry.” You rolled your eyes.

“don’t worry about ‘im,” Sans said. “he’s jus’ an overgrown weed with attitude.”  

“Shut up, trash bag.” Flowey stuck his tongue out.

Frisk looked at you, then back to Sans. “Who’s this? Your girlfriend?” They waggled their eyebrows suggestively.     

“Why do people keep asking that?” you lamented.

“’cuz doll. we’re on a date,” Sans winked.

“A DATE?” Papyrus arrived at the scene with a grimace, holding a stick of fluffy, pink cotton candy, one hand on his hip. “BROTHER, I HAVE NOT GIVEN YOU PERMISSION TO DATE THE HUMAN YET! YOU ARE ONLY ALLOWED FRIENDSHIP ACTIVITIES AT THIS POINT!”

Frisk and Flowey snickered.

“it’s not actually a date, boss. i was teasin’ her.”

“HMM.” The taller skeleton narrowed his eyes. “WELL, YOU DON’T APPEAR TO BE WEARING YOUR DATING CLOTHES…”

More snickering.

“THE HUMAN, HOWEVER, LOOKS SICKENINGLY… NICE.”

You raised an eyebrow, not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not.

“SHE’S TRYING EVEN HARDER TO SEDUCE YOU, SANS. DO NOT GIVE IN.”

You sighed, feeling so done.

“don’t worry, i ain’t fallin’ for it.” His grin widened.

“So, do you like-like Sans?” Frisk asked, doing the eyebrow thing again.

“No, I don’t. We’re just friends.” You tried to say it nicely to the kid, but it still came out a little harsh. They didn’t seem to care.

“I can’t believe you actually like this turd,” Flowey snorted. “Don’t skeletons look exactly like dead humans? That’s disgusting.”

“ya wanna find out what a dead weed looks like?”

“Try me!”

“We should get those hotdogs now,” you said to Sans, not sure how much more of this you could take.

He grunted and reluctantly turned his glare from Flowey. “hey boss, you ‘n the kid wanna grab one with us?”

“NO,” Papyrus answered, his facial bones drawing together in disgust. “HOTDOGS ARE FAKE FOOD. I WILL NOT ALLOW SUCH A BASE SUBSTANCE TO CONTAMINATE THIS PHYSICAL MASTERPIECE.” He gestured to himself with a curt motion.

“ok, mr. ‘physical masterpiece.’ what’s that’cha got in your hand?”

Papyrus turned to the cotton candy, a faint blush dusting his cheekbones.

“THIS ISN’T MINE,” he growled, thrusting the stick towards Frisk, who took it happily.      

“well see ya later, then,” chuckled Sans. He began leading the way towards the hotdog stand.

“So you guys are pretty close with the ambassador, then?” you asked.

“yeah, i guess,” he shrugged. “my bro is closer to them than me.”

“Huh.” That was a surprise. It was hard to picture the menacing, edgy skeleton being close with anyone. “Do they live together? Frisk said something about you coming to visit them.”

“remember how i told ya papyrus is captain of the royal guard?”

“Yeah?”

“he’s assigned to protect frisk and the monster embassy. it’s basically a live-in job.”

“Oh.” You didn’t realize there was a need for protection, but it made sense. There were a lot of anti-monster enthusiasts. “Wait, the embassy… isn’t that where the king and queen live, too?”

“yep.” Sans grimaced.

The two of you stopped walking, having reached the hotdog line.

“I’ve passed by there a few times. The outside is gorgeous.” Your old house was in the same neighborhood, and you used to drive by on your way to run errands.

He gave a humorless chuckle. “it may _look_ nice, but livin’ there’s like a friggin’ nightmare.”    

“Oh? Why’s that?” you asked.

“heh, let’s just say the king and queen have a few screws loose. don’t know how the kid can stand it there.”

“Huh. They always seem civil on the news.”

You’d reached the front of the line, and Sans turned from you to the hotdog salesman. “three ‘dogs. two with extra mustard, and one with, uh—” he turned back “—whaddaya want on yours?”

“I’m not really hungry.” These hotdogs were a hundred percent human food. There was no way you would force yourself to eat them.

He scoffed. “you were the one who wanted to get over here so badly. whaddaya want?”

Shoot, he caught you there. Maybe you could stomach it just this once. “Uh, I guess ketchup and mustard.”

“the lady wants ketchup and mustard,” Sans repeated back to the vendor.

After your order was made, you took your hotdogs and headed off towards the side of a building, out of the way of the crowd.

You stared at the daunting object in your hand, trying to figure out the best way to eat it without gagging. A red glow caught your attention, and you looked up to see Sans’s hotdogs as the source.

“Are _you_ doing that?” You stared in awe.

“yep. can’t eat ‘em otherwise.” The red glow subsided, and Sans’s sharp teeth sunk into a hotdog, mustard smearing all over the top row.

“What, did you just infuse them with magic or something?”

“bingo,” he said around a mouthful.

“Can you do that to mine?” you asked tentatively.

He raised a browbone. “what’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing,” you shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. “I just like the taste of monster food better.” 

“can’t argue with that,” he chuckled.

In the next instant, your hotdog lit up red and you startled, almost dropping it. As the magic glow disappeared, you examined it. It didn’t look any different, and it even seemed to weigh the same. Interesting.

Hesitantly, you took a bite. Flavor exploded in your mouth, tangy from the condiments, savory from the meat. Not bad.

“So,” you said between bites, “if you can infuse your own food with magic, why are there monster grocery stores?”

“same reason why you buy frozen dinners,” he shrugged. “magic takes effort. for some of us more than others. and others of us are just lazy.”

“So which one are you? Weak or lazy?”

“i just edible-ized three ‘dogs. do i look weak to you?”

“’Edible-ized?’ You’re definitely lazy if you’re making up words like that.”

“it’s not laziness, it’s ingenuity.” He grinned proudly.

You smirked. “Well if you’re not lazy, you must be weak.”

“’m not weak.” He turned his attention back to his food, smile twitching.

Your mirthful attitude dissolved into confusion as you examined his reaction. That was quite the turnaround for what you’d thought was a lighthearted conversation. You turned back to your own hotdog, feeling awkward.

After a couple bites, you cleared your throat. “Um, so you said the king and queen are crazy?”

Just like that he snapped out of his funk. “heh, you have no idea. take it from someone who’s lived with ‘em, they’re nuts. throwin’ stuff, laughin’ at nothin’, bein’ paranoid about everythin’.”

“I never would’ve guessed.” It was kind of troubling to learn, actually. Monsters already had enough reason to hate humans. The last thing they needed were unstable rulers to push them to further distrust. “But wait, you lived with them?”

“yep. used to be part of the guard.” He grimaced. “couldn’t stand livin’ there though, so i gotta job with grilbz.”

“And they wouldn’t let Papyrus keep the cat?”

“heh, you remembered that. yeah, no. not with how much asgore likes to cus.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”   

“oh, uh, doomfanger’s been trained to attack when… when someone swears,” he said, scratching his skull.

You almost snorted with laughter. “When someone—haha! You’re kidding!”

He lit up at your reaction. “nah, livin’ with that stupid cat’s a real pain.”

“But—just why?” you asked, still very much amused.

“paps says swearing is ‘uncivilized.’” He made air quotes and rolled his eyelights. “doesn’t stop him from doing it himself, though.”

You wiped a mirthful tear from your eye. “Your brother’s a real character, isn’t he?”

“he’s the best,” Sans grinned.

The faint band music that had been playing faded, followed by a staticky male voice, echoing through speakers around the street corner.

“Attention ladies and gentlemen! The main event of the evening is about to start!”

“What’s the main event?” you asked Sans.

The announcer answered instead. “What we once thought was the play of our city’s traditional folklore, and now the telling of our amazing, rich history! This year, for the first time ever, we are lucky enough to hear the other side of the story as told by our new residents!”

The people around you began to buzz with excitement.

“Okay, we’ve got to go see that,” you said. There was no way you could miss something so interesting.

“sure, why not?” Sans shrugged.

You both finished up your food as you joined the mass of people headed around the corner. They pooled around a concert stage set up in the middle of a large four-way intersection. The band on stage was finishing packing up.

You noticed a higher ratio of monsters in the crowd than usual, conglomerated into small groups among the humans.

“Did you guys do any reenactments like this when you were underground?” you asked, having to yell to be heard.

“nah, we weren’t into that kinda thing.” Sans stood on his toes and looked around. “you wanna get closer?”

You were probably fifty feet from the stage. Not a bad distance, but it was a little difficult to see over some of the taller people. “I don’t know if we can. The crowd’s pretty dense.”

“not a problem, doll.” He smirked confidently and offered you his hand.

You hesitated a moment, wondering if it would be dangerous to teleport into all those people. Tensing, you reached out your own hand, bracing yourself once you felt him tug you close… only to stumble as he kept pulling. You let out a small yelp as you were dragged through the throng.

Sans squeezed his way unapologetically between people. When they turned to protest, their offended glares changing to fear and wariness, and they quickly moved out of the way to avoid further contact. Amusedly, you kept pace behind until finally making it to the front row.

“impressive, huh?” he asked with a wink.

You shrugged indifferently. “I guess being a skeleton has its perks.”

The band had cleared out, and a crew began to line the edges of the stage with metal fire pits. A few cameras were poised in the crowd to capture the impending event, one set up not far from where you stood. It seemed like a pretty big deal.

A few minutes later, the stage lights shut off, leaving the string lights hung between poles to create an ambient glow. The crowd began to murmur softly in anticipation.

You felt a bony hand bump into yours. And then once again.

“What?” you asked, turning to Sans.

“thought’cha might wanna hold hands. it’s pretty dark. we might get separated.” His infuriatingly roguish grin glinted in the faint light.

“Are you—” you huffed, folding your arms. “It’s not that dark, and nobody’s even moving around.”

“suit yourself.”

A dramatic, metallic voice rang out over the speakers, effectively hushing the crowd. “ _This_ is a story of fear. _This_ is a story of betrayal. Of _bloodshed_. Of imprisonment.”

Thick fog rolled onto the stage, spilling off the edges in wispy coils.

“ _This_ is the true legend of Mt. Ebott.”

With a _woosh_ the fire pits simultaneously flared to life, drawing cheers. Flames shot up in pillars, collecting into a swirling sphere above center stage. The smoldering coals left behind in the pits lent their light to the fog, giving it an ethereal orange glow.

“Long ago,” the speaker began, “monsters dwelled among the humans of this land in peace.”

The fireball spread apart in tendrils, morphing into the flickering outline of two groups: monsters of all shapes and sizes, and humans.

“But then new humans greedily invaded the land, forcing the natives from their homes.”

The fire swirled, creating tents and humans in a village-like setting. A wave of the new humans swept through, chasing out the inhabitants with what looked to be rifles and swords.

“The natives realized they were no match for them and their weapons, so they decided to beg for help from the King of Monsters to defend against the intruders.”

The scene changed, this time to a small group of natives on their knees in front of a large, horned monster.

“The King accepted, and together they were successful in driving them away and reclaiming their land. The invaders grew angry and doubled their efforts. There was much death on both sides, but the monsters and natives finally prevailed.”

While he spoke, the flames depicted short scenes of the warfare.

“The invaders, seeing they could not win, devised a plan of their own. They offered the natives peace and to share the land, but at the price of joining forces with them against monsterkind, who they feared. The natives, not wishing to lose any more of their people, accepted, but refused to fight anymore. Instead, they promised to aid them in a different way.”

Seven figures with long staffs and tall headdresses flickered onstage.

“The natives, gifted in the art of magic, gathered seven of their most talented sorcerers. Through great effort, these sorcerers transformed a choice group of the intruder’s warriors into horrible, bloodthirsty creatures. They became stronger, faster, and deadlier than any other living thing. They called them ‘vampires.’”

The crowd began murmuring in surprised confusion.

Your eyes widened in shock. Chester had mentioned vampires played a role in the war against monsters, but you’d kind of forgotten. You weren’t even sure you’d believed it at the time. But this was not good. Vampires were supposed to be myths, and now people were going to know they actually existed. You and your kind were going to be in a lot more danger than before.

As you watched the flames play out the story, you leaned to Sans. “You guys don’t actually believe in vampires, do you? They’re not real.”               

He let out a sharp bark of laughter. “doll, a few years back humans didn’t believe in monsters, either. but here we are.”

The narrator continued. “The vampires hunted down our kind, and we lost many lives. Eventually, we retreated and hid inside the caves of Mount Ebott. The natives, taking pity on us, sent their sorcerers to trap us underground with a magical barrier and convinced the invaders we were no longer a threat. There monsters were forced to live for centuries, until one brave human child destroyed the barrier and set us free.”

The flames concluded their depictions, gathering into a roaring pillar that funneled up and dispersed itself in the night sky. The stage was dark once again.

“The rest of our story… has only just begun.”

Cheering and clapping grew thunderously from the audience. A figure rose up through the fog, and the stage lights flipped on, almost blindingly. The cheering became even louder as the figure’s identity was revealed.

There stood the robotic star of monsterkind, Mettaton, his four arms posed dramatically. His polished crimson and gold body gleamed in the spotlight. Two of his four red eyes winked as he dipped forward in a deep bow.

“Thank you, beauties and gentle-beauties! You’ve been a wonderful audience!”

He had such a natural stage presence. With his popularity among humans and monsters, it was no wonder he’d been assigned such a task.

Your hands applauded numbly, barely registering the movement. “Sans,” you said. “Do you think vampires still exist?”    

“dunno,” he shrugged. “haven’t seen any.” He studied your face a moment. “ya aren’t scared, are ya?”

“No,” you answered quickly. “It’d just be kinda cool, that’s all.”

“ha! are ya kiddin’ me? if ya think gettin’ drained of all your blood is cool. they eat humans.”

Hearing that in light of the new information you’d learned tonight made you pause. If vampires were created by humans to destroy monsters, why did they need to feed off humans? It didn’t make sense.

“aw, doll. are ya scared?” Sans crooned teasingly. “don’t worry. i wouldn’t let any of those filthy bloodsuckers come near ya.”

You almost flinched at the insult. “I’m not scared. They’re not real.”

He grinned knowingly. “whatever ya say.”

The crowd grew silent. Looking ahead you saw a hulking, regally dressed monster step onstage. With his white, goatly visage, black beard, and large horns you recognized him at once as King Asgore.

“Citizens of Ebott,” he began, the bass of his voice ringing out. “The tale that you have heard tonight is true. While we mourn our years under the mountain, we do not wish to hold you humans accountable for the vile deeds of your ancestors.”

He paused, his cold eyes glinting as he surveyed the audience.

“That being said, we have learned that vampires live indefinitely. As long as they are around, they are a threat to our kind and a danger to humans. We wish to see them all destroyed.”

A pang of fear shot through your heart. Not only would you have to worry about slayers hunting you, but monsters, too? Murmuring and whispers began, and you tried to discern the conversations happening around you.

“—getting used to monsters, now we have to deal with vampires?”

“If vampires are still around they’re sure hiding pretty well. I haven’t even heard—”

“Haha! I knew it! This is so awesome! I want to meet one!”

_Sure you do_ , you thought, rolling your eyes.

The general conversation didn’t seem to be too negative. The bulk of it was more curious confusion than anything. That was all good in the meantime, but soon there would be fear and paranoia and witch hunts. You’d seen it before.

King Asgore cleared his throat, and everyone silenced. “We ask for your help. If we get rid of this threat we can all live in peace once again. Thank you.”

He nodded curtly and proceeded to step of the stage.

Once again, the crowd erupted in conversation.

You stood there, staring numbly off into space for a moment.

“Hey Sans,” you said, nudging his arm.

“yeah?”

“Can you take me home? I’ve just started to get a huge headache.”

“are ya sure ya can’t stick it out another hour? there’s still—”

“No, I feel really nauseous,” you lied. “I’m sorry.”

“alright, i hear ya.” Sans sighed. “bein’ sick ain’t fun.”

He wrapped his arm around you, and together you reappeared back at your apartment.

“Thanks though,” you said, starting to unlock your door. “I had a good time.”

“me too, doll. hope ya feel better.” He stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and winked.

“Again, really sorry. Goodnight.” You gave a weak smile as you stepped inside and shut the door.

You had some calls to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as far as updates go, I'm not going to make any time promises. But I do promise that I will keep working on this. I'm really invested in the story line and am excited to see this through! Thank you for sticking with me this far!
> 
> Also, please leave a comment if you enjoyed this chapter, or if you have questions, or anything! Your comments and kudos are one of the biggest motivators for me! <3  
> Also, check out my tumblr! <https://kariganfirestone.tumblr.com/>  
> Thanks, everyone!


	11. Phone Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of talking over the phone. Like, three calls. And a fourth, but you don't get to read about that. And now you'll be going crazy trying to guess who it's between~ sorry xD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!! I'm just gonna drop this chapter here... It was gonna be like twice as long, but I haven't posted in a couple months, so I figured I'd at least finish this part so you're not waiting even longer. Enjoy!

(Earlier that day)

Savio Rapaci typed away on the keyboard at his desk, stopping every so often to glance at the time on his silver watch. The email he was writing was to one of his company managers, but he was more focused on the phone call he would be receiving any minute.

It was already fifteen minutes past. Ansel was probably the most secretive vampire he knew, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the call never came. He was also extremely hard to reach, so it was a toss-up if he’d even gotten his message.

Once the phone finally began to buzz, Savio paused, adjusting his tie and straightening his shoulders.

Lifting the phone to his ear, he smoothly answered, “Good evening.”

“Savio.” The reception on the other end was less than clear, but it was enough for the deep, old-world accent to come through. “How have you been, friend?”

“Me? I’m very well, thank you.” He tapped a pen lightly on the desk. “And yourself? Where has the wind blown you to these days?”

“Oh, did Rina not tell you?”

“No, all she said was she knew where you might be found. She didn’t share her knowledge.”

Ansel chuckled. “Good girl. Very loyal, that one.”

“You’re mysterious as always, I see.” Savio frowned but was careful to keep his voice light.

“Ah, can’t be too careful, can I?”

“By all the static, I’d say you’re fairly isolated,” he noted nonchalantly. “Camping or skiing this time?”

There was a pause. When Ansel continued, all the humor had left his voice. “I can see right through your little game, Savio.” The old loon was still as sharp as ever.

His grip on the pen tightened. “I assure you, I don’t play games.”

Ansel let out a bark of laughter. “I don’t know what your end goal is, but if you don’t answer my questions _you_ can be assured you won’t reach it.”

Savio sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What do you want to know?”

“Good boy,” he chuckled darkly. “Now, Rina told me that y/n asked you about feralization. Did she tell you _why_ she was asking?”

“No. It didn’t come up.”

“Well. I would be remiss if one of my own children turned feral. I’ll need her number.”

He grunted in agreement, proceeding to rattle off the digits. “Maybe you should pay her a visit as well. She’s in Ebott, you know.”

“Ebott of all places…” Ansel sounded surprised. “No, a call will do. Goodbye, Savio.”

“Please, call again s—” but the dial tone interrupted. He cursed at the phone in disbelief and slammed it onto the receiver.

That was probably his best chance at pinpointing Ansel’s location. If he missed one or two of the others, it wouldn’t be an issue. But Ansel? If they found out he was still alive after this was all over, the deal would be off. He should’ve known the old man would be onto him.

He still had one option, however. That is, if the slayer hadn’t gotten to you first.  

__________

You were strangely calm. The whole world was about to find out that vampires really existed, and you were about to become Public Enemy #1. But in this moment, you were surprisingly fine.

Taking a seat on the couch, you pulled out your phone, staring as it shook in your hands. Maybe you weren’t as calm as you’d thought. Scrolling through your contacts, you found “S.R.” and hit the call button.

“Hello, y/n,” answered Savio’s smooth voice. “What a coincidence. I was just about to call you, as well. You must be wondering about your question.”

“I…” You’d completely forgotten about that. “No, actually, but… what have you found out?”

“Nothing, I’m afraid,” he replied. “Although, I’ve just been in contact with your sire.”

“What?” You gritted your teeth.

“He wants to help.”

“Wait, you didn’t tell him _I_ was the one having issues, did you? I never even told _you_ that.” It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep your volume down.

“Why else would you be asking?” he said calmly. “He figured it out.”

You let out an exasperated sigh. “Please tell me he doesn’t know where I live.”

“I thought it was for the best.”

“Are you kidding?” you screeched.

“I gave him your number as well.”

You cursed, banging a fist on the arm of the couch. Was Savio trying to make you hate him?

“Listen, I know you’re upset, but feralization is serious. Ansel can help.”

“ _Feralization_? I thought you said you didn’t find anything out,” you hissed.

“I didn’t,” he sighed. “Look, he won’t visit, only call.”

“What a relief.” Your voice dripped with bitter sarcasm.

“I need you to convince him to visit.”

“Why would I do that?” you cried. “Have you been listening to me at all?”

“Yes, but hear me out,” he said, tone serious. “He’s a very hard man to pin down, and he’s stolen something from me that I want back.”

“I’m sorry, but that sounds like a personal problem.”

“Y/n, all I need you to do is convince him to come to Ebott City. You won’t have to deal with him beyond that. I’ll find him and meet with him myself.”

A moment passed before your reply. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”

“Oh? And why not?” He sounded mildly annoyed.

Finally, what you actually called to talk about. “The slayer’s here, and—”

Savio laughed. “The slayer? Don’t worry about them. I’ve gotten reports of them spotted _miles_ away from Ebott.”

Could that be true? If it were, you wouldn’t have to worry about going out so much. Either way, it wasn’t much of a relief considering the new circumstances.

You grimaced. “I wasn’t finished. Monsters have just announced that they want vampires dead.”

There was a long silence. When he spoke, it was a quiet, angry hiss. “What?”

“Did you know about their history?”

“I was aware, yes.” Now he was the one struggling to control his tone.

“Well this is the first I’m hearing of it. Shouldn’t something like that be more well-known?”

“So, they’ve publicly announced our existence, then.” He completely avoided your question.

“Yeah, but—”

“Y/n, when Ansel contacts you, have him go to the Ebott Inn. Don’t tell him I’ll be the one to meet him.”

“Savio, wait a second. I have—”

“I’m sorry to hang up like this y/n, but I need to be going now.”

_Click._

Scowling, you let your phone drop onto a cushion. You had so many questions you wanted him to answer. On top of that, he expected you to talk to Ansel. You supposed you had no choice. It was either direct him to a specific place or risk him searching the entire city and eventually finding you, probably giving away your identities in the process. He was very determined like that.

Groaning loudly, you placed your head in your hands. You’d hoped to never see him again. Hate filled you at the thought. He’d done this to you. He ruined your life. If it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t be here right now worrying over how to survive against literally the whole world. You wouldn’t be so alone. You wouldn’t—

There was a knock at the door.

Cautiously you got up and looked out the peephole. Relief flooded through you when you saw Sans standing there.

You cracked open the door. “Hey, Sans. What’s up?” you said tiredly.

“thought’cha might want some meds,” he replied, holding up a grocery bag.

“Huh?”

“don’t humans take stuff when they get headaches?”

“Oh, yeah.” You’d forgotten about the excuse you’d used to get home. “Thanks.” Taking the bag, you peered inside. There were three different bottles of painkillers.

“monster meds aren’t exactly the same, i didn’t know what to get ya… i jus’ grabbed ‘em all.”

You chuckled lightly, for a second forgetting all about the events of today. “You didn’t have to do that. But thanks.”

He rubbed the back of his skull. “’s nothin’. hope ya feel better.”

Something twinged deep in your chest, and you felt that out-of-place warmth again. You gasped, leaning forward with a hand over the area.

Sans’s hands gripped your shoulders to steady you. “what’s wrong, doll?” His face was a mix of concern and panic.

“Nothing, I’m fine,” you grunted, trying to keep the worry out of your voice. You straightened yourself and brushed him off.

“it’s not a heart attack, is it?” His eyesockets widened. “i heard those are deadly.”

You rolled your eyes. “It’s not a heart attack, Sans. That’s impossible.”

“how do you know for sure?” He raised his browbone skeptically.

“Because it’s not. Besides, it’s not coming from my heart. It’s coming from here.” You placed a hand over the center of your chest.

Sans’s expression became even more concerned. “that’s… that’s where your soul is.”

“What?” You laughed. There was no way that could be it. You didn’t have a soul.

“we gotta get you checked out,” he said with resolve. “i know someone that can help.”

“No way.” Once they saw you were soulless, they would guess what you were. “I’m fine, I just need to rest.”

“if ya don’t wanna go anywhere, at least let _me_ look at it.”

Eyes widening, you took a step back. “I said I’m fine.”

“geez, i’m not gonna hurt’cha.” He held his hands up submissively, looking miffed. “i jus’ wanna make sure you’re okay. soul stuff is serious.”

He was the second person today to tell you whatever was wrong with you was serious. “Yeah, well…” you started, trying to think of an explanation and failing. “Thanksforthemedsgoodnight!” You shut the door on a very confused and annoyed skeleton.

“y/n!” came the muffled reply. “’s only gonna get worse!”

You turned away and retreated to your room. There was no way he was right. Though, you couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he was on the right track. Maybe it had something to do with the _absence_ of your soul. These strange feelings in your chest also might have something to do with your thirst lately, too. Was it all connected?

You hated to admit it, but maybe Ansel _would_ be able to help you. If this was all because of your lack of a soul, you couldn’t be the only vampire to ever go through it. With how long he’d been around, he had to know something.

Plopping down on your bed, you frowned. What had this come to if you were thinking of asking Ansel of all people for help? Was it even worth it? Come to think of it, why were you even trying to get help in the first place? Was this existence even worth it? So what if you got better? You’d continue to live out your lonely, immortal days, as miserably as you had before.

“Feralization” though? That sounded bad. Did that mean you would eventually turn completely carnal, with no conscience or restraint? You didn’t want to live like that, either.

Groaning, you turned onto your stomach and buried your head under a pillow. Maybe you could just stay like this until everything sorted itself out, for better or worse.

You felt a vibration in your pants pocket. You were just going to ignore it, but then it vibrated again. And again. Pulling your phone under the pillow with you, you saw that Chester was calling you. Who the heck—oh. Burgerpants. Seriously, how long would it take you to remember his real name?

“Hello?” you answered.

“Y/n! Did you hear about what King Asgore did today?” came the reply.

“Yeah, I was there.”

“He announ—wait, what?” He sounded a little annoyed. “ _You_ were there? _I_ was there. Thanks for telling me.”

“Another friend asked me to go with them.”

“What other friend?” he asked suspiciously. “I thought I was your only friend.”

Rude. “What made you think that?”

“You said you don’t have friends because you’re a moody, hermit vampire.”

“I am not!” you defended. Well, maybe a little.

“Moody. Hermit. Vampire.”

Who did this guy think he was? “Yeah, well you’re a… a soft, fluffy, burger boy?” Man, you sucked at insults.

“Pffft! What even is that?” he laughed. “You’d better up your game.”

You felt your cheeks heat up. “I’m hanging up now.”

“No, no, wait!” He started to quell his amusement. “I just wanted to let you know that I won’t turn you in. So, you don’t have to worry.”

“Oh. Well, thanks.” You hadn’t even considered yet that he might, but it was honestly a relief to hear he wouldn’t. That’s not how things with your past friends had turned out.

“Yeah, uh, just thought you should know.”

An idea popped into your mind. “Hey, you don’t happen to know any more about the war back then, do you? Or about vampires?”

“Mm, not really?” he said.

“Oh, okay.” Well, it was worth a shot.

“But there are books about it. They got uploaded to the Undernet after we were freed. If you want… you could come over and we could look them up?”

“Alright,” you said hesitantly. “You’ll have to pick me up, though. I’m not walking across town.”

“Sure,” he said. “How about tonight?”

“Tonight? Isn’t it late?”

“Yeah, why not? I’m a night owl.”

“Okay.” Honestly, you really wanted to stay home and process everything that had just happened, but at the same time your curiosity was eating away at you.

“See you soon then, buddy!”

“Bye.”

__________

Sans hadn’t tried to listen in on your call, but these walls were just so thin! He couldn’t hear the other person, just everything that you’d said. Who in the world was this “soft, fluffy, burger boy?!” Why were you talking to him? Sans thought you were averse to having friends. On top of that, it sounded like you might be going somewhere with him tonight. When you supposedly weren’t feeling well. And why hadn’t you asked Sans those questions? He could’ve answered them, no problem.

Did you still not trust him? Were you lying when you gave that whole spiel about friends, when it really _is_ monsters you don’t like? He’d thought he could trust what he felt about you. He was usually a good judge of character, but maybe he’d been wrong.

Something just didn’t seem right about all this. He had to know what it was. He decided he was going to follow you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, thank you to all those that keep reading this fic. I really appreciate you. You give me life!
> 
> Also, tumblr if you want to hit me up with questions: [kariganfirestone](https://kariganfirestone.tumblr.com/)


End file.
